South Korea’s dominant messaging app service provider Kakao Corp. is launching own audio-based social media in hopes to lure Korean users away from foreign services.

The new trending chat service has come into fashion through the servicing by Clubhouse, a Silicon Valley start-up, during the pandemic year.

Multinational social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Spotify have been also creating their versions.

According to industry sources on Thursday, Kakao will launch an audio-based social media app tentatively named ‘Sound K’ as early as next month. The new app is being built separately from the company’s popular messaging app platform KakaoTalk.

The service is being prepared for local distribution to offer new user experience through Kakao Talk’s 10-year operational know-how, a company official said, declining to confirm the exact launch period.

Sound K will have a similar feature makeup to Clubhouse, where users can communicate in voice chat rooms that accommodate special interest groups. But unlike Clubhouse, it will be available on iOS and Android from the beginning without the need for an invite to join in.

Kakao is also considering a monetization model for its audio-based feature.

By Oh Dae-seok and Minu Kim

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]