Did my app just crash? A case study of the Kakao superapp disruption event

• Published in: Journal of business continuity & emergency planning Vol. 17; no. 3; p. 261
• Main Authors: Hefley, Bill, Haynes, Steven, Green, Travis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-01-2024
• Subjects: Disaster Planning; Humans; Mobile Applications; Republic of Korea; Republic of Korea
• ISSN: 1749-9216
• DOI: 10.69554/QPKJ9262

Superapps (ie apps that integrate the features of multiple applications for a more convenient user experience) have become pervasive among Internet users. This case study examines a recent disruption to one such application: KakaoTalk - the most widely used messaging application in South Korea. Specifically, the case study examines a fire incident at the SK C&C data centre, which caused an extended outage for one of South Korea's leading tech companies - Kakao Corp. The review of this event reveals how ineffective disaster readiness resulted in inadequate fire response, leading to serious ripple effects across the data centre. During the outage, cyber-security threats rose. As a result of these disruptions, Kakao users turned to competitor apps, resulting in changing market dynamics. This case study highlights the unforeseen costs and socio-economic influences caused by such interruptions, highlighting the importance of holistic risk management strategies.