Spam reports related to KakaoTalk's advertising service, known as 'brand message,' exceeded 94,000 from January to July this year. Fines imposed on companies sending spam messages have increased elevenfold compared to last year.
On September 20, Rep. Lee Hoon-ki presented data from the Korea Communications Commission and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), revealing that there were 94,947 spam reports linked to KakaoTalk's brand message service during the first seven months of this year.
The brand message service allows third-party advertisers to send promotional messages to KakaoTalk users for commercial purposes. Even users who are not friends with a KakaoTalk channel can receive personalized advertising messages if they have consented to receive such information.
There has also been a rise in fines related to violations of laws governing the transmission of advertising information. According to the data submitted by Rep. Lee, the number of fines for violations of the Telecommunications Business Act increased from two cases in 2025 to 22 cases this year, an elevenfold increase.
Of the 22 fines imposed this year, 18 were related to the failure to obtain consent by transmission method, accounting for 81.8% of the total. This indicates that companies executing advertisements did not differentiate the consent for receiving promotional information based on the transmission method, such as text messages or KakaoTalk.
Rep. Lee stated, "Among the 22 fines related to KakaoTalk's brand message this year, 18 were due to the failure to obtain consent by transmission method. Beyond the individual responsibility of advertisers, it is necessary for Kakao to review its platform-wide management system for obtaining consent for receiving brand messages, including whether prior consent was obtained from customers and whether they were given the right to refuse advertisements."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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