The English version is provided for reference purposes, and the legally binding Korean version shall prevail if there are any conflicts between the English and Korean versions.
Kakao Corporation (hereinafter, “Kakao”) has prepared the Terms of Service to prescribe conditions, procedures and other regulations necessary for members to use platforms that are needed to develop web services, mobile application and other application programs (hereinafter, collectively referred to as “Programs”), as well as the Kakao Developer Website (https://developers.kakao.com, hereinafter, the “Developer Website”), which offers supplemental features that can connect to various services.
① “Service” refers to all services provided by Kakao via the Developer Website to support members when they develop Programs, and includes, but is not limited to, platform API and service API.
② “Member” refers to an individual who has a Kakao Account, has entered into a use agreement with Kakao in accordance to this Terms of Service, and is developing a Program via the Developer Website.
③ “API” or Application Programming Interface, refers to the interface that is needed to use technology provided by Kakao on the member’s application.
④ “Application” (hereinafter, “App”) collectively refers to the member’s application, Program or website the member wishes to apply the API to.
⑤ “Biz App” refers to the application in which the business information is registered or the personal authentication is completed.
⑥ “Kakao Business” refers to entire online and mobile business-related services that require a separate signup to use relevant business functions among all the services provided by Kakao.
① Kakao shall post the Terms of Service on the Developer Website’s home page to enable easily access for members.
② Kakao may modify the Terms of Service within a scope that does not contravene the Regulation of Standardized Contracts Act and other relevant laws and regulations.
③ Kakao shall post announcements about any modifications, including the modification application date and reason for modifications, on the Developer Website seven (7) days prior to the effective date. However, if the amendments acts at a disadvantage to the member, Kakao shall individually send a notification thirty (30) days prior to the effective date, as is prescribed in Article 9 Paragraph 1.
④ Unless the member explicitly refuses, the member shall be presumed to have consented to the amendments, even after Kakao clearly states in the aforementioned announcement or notification that the member shall be deemed to have expressed their opinion if they fail to do so within a specified period of time.
⑤ Kakao shall not apply the amended Terms of Service if the member does not consent to its application, and in which case, the member may terminate the use agreement. However, Kakao may terminate the use agreement if the previous Terms of Service cannot be applied due to specific circumstances.
① Kakao may have a separate Service Operating Policy (hereinafter “Operating Policy”), which shall govern the provision of services.
② Any matters not prescribed in the Terms of Service shall be subject to the Operating Policy, relevant laws and regulations or business practices.
① The individual who wishes to become a member of the Service (hereinafter the “Subscription Applicant”) can subscribe as a member of the Service by agreeing to the provisions in the Terms of Service and submitting a subscription application in accordance with procedures provided by Kakao. The Subscription Applicant will be subscribed to the Service once Kakao approves their application.
② Any Subscription Applicant shall be permitted in principle to use the Service. However, Kakao may withhold or refuse to approve the Subscription Applicants use of the Service, or terminate the use agreement at a later date, if the Subscription Applicant falls under any of the following subparagraphs:
③ Kakao may defer approval if Kakao does not have sufficient equipment for the Service or is experiencing technical or business issues.
① The member can view or update their personal information through the Developer Website at any time.
② If information that was submitted during the subscription process has changed, the member shall update their information through the Developer Website or notify Kakao of the changes via email or other means.
③ Kakao shall not be responsible for any disadvantages that occur due to the member’s failure to notify Kakao of the aforementioned changes.
Kakao strives to protect the personal information of its members in compliance with the Personal Information Protection Act and other relevant laws and regulations. Relevant laws and regulations and personal information processing policies shall be applied with regard to the protection and use of personal information.
① The member shall be responsible for managing their own Developer Website account and shall prohibit any third party from using their account.
② The member shall immediately notify Kakao and follow directions if they become aware that their account has been stolen or is being used by a third party.
③ Kakao shall not be responsible for any damages that result from the member’s failure to immediately notify Kakao or follow Kakao’s directions after notifying Kakao in the event of the aforementioned Paragraph.
① Kakao can notify members through the email the member provided when subscribing, or via SMS and Kakao Talk messages.
② To receive Kakao's notifications, members shall maintain up-to-date contact information such as email or mobile phone number, as well as active Kakao Accounts and Developer Website Accounts, and Kakao does not take any responsibility for any disadvantage resulting from violating this provision.
③ Kakao may substitute individual notifications with notices posted in the DevTalk on the Developer Website when notifying multiple unspecified members or all members.
① Kakao shall abide by provisions in the Terms of Service and in related laws, and will exert efforts to provide the Service in a continuous and stable manner.
② Kakao shall provide a security system to protect personal information (including credit information) to ensure that the member can use the Service safely, and also announce and conform to the Privacy Policy.
③ Kakao shall process comments or complaints filed by the member in regards to the use of the Service if such comments or complaints are deemed justifiable. The resolution process and its results may be shared through a message board in the Developer Website or by email.
④ Kakao may post the member’s name, logo and/or contents, free-of-charge, in order to promote the member’s use of the Service. However, the posting can be deleted or modified through mutual agreement upon the member’s request.
① The member shall abide by related laws, the Terms of Service, Operating Policy, user guide and notifications and announcements posted by Kakao, and shall not interfere with Kakao’s business.
② The member shall not commit any of the following actions in using the Service. In any of the following actions, Kakao may suspend the member’s use of the Service or terminate the Service Agreement without any prior notice.
③ The member shall not, without prior approval from Kakao, copy, duplicate, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, enter into a search engine or directory, or use other means to use, or provide any third person with, information (including data, secret key, access token) that was acquired while using the Service and/or the Developer Website. However, such information can be shared if a confidentiality agreement is entered into through a representative.
④ The member shall faithfully comply with any requests Kakao makes for resources, accessing authorities or justifications of related facts in order to verify whether the Service is provided or if any violations have been made in regards to the Terms of Service.
⑤ The member shall regularly check for version updates on features Kakao provides through the Service, including software development kits (SDK).
⑥ members must comply with all of the following items with regard to the protection of personal information in any program they operate. If Kakao becomes aware that you have violated the obligation herein, Kakao may restrict your use of the Service or terminate the relevant service agreement:
⑦ The member shall abide by the Personal Information Protection Act, the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, other related laws and regulations, as well as policies and guidelines provided by associated organizations if the member provided Kakao with the service user’s data while using technology or API that can collect/analyze user data.
⑧ If the data set forth in Paragraph 7 corresponds to personal information, members must obtain consent from their users to provide personal information to third parties pursuant to the Personal Information Protection Act.
⑨ The member shall build a security system that provides a sufficient level of security when providing member's service that utilizes Kakao's service, and shall prevent Kakao, other members or third parties, from being inflicted with damages that result from attacks, program modifications and abuses from others.
⑩ Kakao may file claims for damages against the member if Kakao experiences damages due to the member’s violation of the obligations in this Article.
① Services are classified as follows:
② The member shall be able to obtain Biz App permissions by registering business operator information after creating an application. Moreover, the member must agree to ‘Kakao Business Terms of Service’ and create an account for relevant services to use functions required to be connected to the business among APIs provided in the service. The types and contents of functions required to be connected to the business shall be determined by the Operating Policy.
③ Kakao may announce information on how to subscribe and use the Service, as well as provide other details about the Service, through the Developer Website. The member shall review the information carefully before using the Service.
① Services provided by Kakao may be provided differently depending on the member’s qualifications and/or the Application’s status.
② If Kakao offers a premium Service, the member shall use the premium Service after agreeing to a premium use agreement. Specifics of a premium Service is detailed in the premium use agreement, as well as the premium policy description section in the Developer Website.
③ As a rule, use of the Service shall continue 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, unless specific failures in Kakao’s business or technology makes Service use unavailable.
④ Kakao may temporarily suspend the provision of the Service due to reasons including maintenance, replacement, malfunction and/or failures of communication of information and communication facilities, including computers, due to loss of communication or reasonable operational issues. In such an event, Kakao shall notify the member using methods stated in Article 9. However, Kakao may notify the member ex post facto if situations prohibit Kakao from posting notifications in advance.
⑤ Kakao may conduct regular maintenance if it is necessary to provide the Service. Maintenance shall be conducted at the time that is posted on the Developer Website.
⑥ If Kakao transmits information upon the request of Programs, Kakao may also send information that is deemed necessary by Kakao, including ads or webpages that are linked to ads.
① Kakao may modify the Service’s contents, operational and/or technical components in order to provide the Service in a stable manner.
② Kakao shall post a notification of any Service modifications and the modification execution date on the Developer Website in advance.
③ Kakao may update, suspend, or modify parts or the whole of the Service, which is provided free-of-charge, if it is necessary for Kakao’s policy or operational needs. Kakao shall not provide separate compensation to the member, unless specified in provisions of related laws.
① The copyright and intellectual property right of the Service shall belong to Kakao. However, this excludes postings and Programs uploaded and developed by the member.
② Kakao shall only grant the member the right to use the account and Developer Website in accordance with conditions defined by Kakao, and the member shall not transfer, sell, provide as collateral, or dispose of such rights in any way.
① The member may access the Developer Website and request to terminate the Service use agreement at any time, and Kakao shall immediately process the member’s request, as is defined in related laws.
② If the member’s use agreement is terminated, Kakao shall delete all of the member’s information, unless Kakao owns the member information as prescribed in related laws and the Privacy Policy.
③ If the member’s Service use agreement is terminated, the member’s information may not be re-used to subscribe again, as is prescribed in the Service Operating Policy.
④ If the member does not submit a Service request through the Program for six (6) consecutive months or more, Kakao may notify the member and terminate the member’s account for Service stability purposes.
⑤ If Kakao or a member’s violation of provisions in the Terms of Service results in damages to the other party, the violating party shall compensate for damages experienced by the other party.
⑥ If a third party other than a member files for appeals, including claims for damages or lawsuits, against Kakao due to a member’s illegal activity or violation of the Terms of Service, the member at fault shall burden all costs and responsibilities to exempt Kakao and compensate for any resulting damages.
① Kakao may gradually limit the member’s rights to use the Service, through warnings, data deletion requests, temporary suspensions (including limiting developer and app’s access to Platform features), and terminate the use agreement if the member violates obligations defined in the Terms of Service and the Operating Policy or interrupts the normal operations of the Service.
② Kakao may immediately terminate the Service use agreement if the member violates Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of the Operating Policy, despite the provisions in the Paragraph above.
③ Kakao shall provide notifications to the member in accordance with provisions in Article 9 if use of the Service is restricted or the use agreement is terminated in accordance with this Article.
④ The member may submit a formal objection to the restriction of use using procedures defined by Kakao. If Kakao deems the objection to be justifiable, Kakao shall immediately restore the member’s ability to use the Service.
① Kakao shall not be responsible for any failures that occur during the use of the Service, or damages inflicted to the member, that occur due to reasons that are not attributable to Kakao, but result from reasons that are attributable to the member or other third party. Damages include, but are not limited to, the following.
② Kakao shall not be responsible for indirect damages, special damages, consequential damages, or exemplary and/or punitive damages, to the extent such damages are allowed by law.
③ Kakao shall not guarantee the reliability, accuracy or legitimacy of the service developed by the member, and shall not be responsible for any associated issues that may arise.
④ Kakao only provides supplemental features needed to develop the member’s Programs through the Service, and does not guarantee any improvement in results through the use of the Service.
⑤ Kakao shall not be responsible for the use of the Service, which is provided free-of-charge via Kakao Developers, unless provisions specified in related laws state otherwise.
① Disputes that arise between Kakao and the member shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of Korea.
② Lawsuits surrounding disputes that arise between Kakao and the member shall be brought to the competent court stated in the Civil Procedure Act.
① Paid API: Refers to API that is provided by Kakao and charged based on usage.
② Free API: Refers to API that is provided by Kakao free of charge.
③ Paid usage: Refers to the call volume that counts the usage of paid API exceeding the free quota. The usage of free quota shall be excluded from the calculation of paid usage.
④ Unit price: Refers to the amount per paid API call and may differ among paid APIs.
⑤ Usage amount: Refers to the amount calculated based on the paid usage and unit price.
⑥ Billing amount: Refers to the amount actually charged to Biz Wallet. The billing amount may be different from the usage amount.
⑦ Biz Wallet: Refers to the Cash management service provided by Kakao that allows members to use paid services among some Kakao Business services according to the Kakao Business Terms of Service; this service is provided to be used in the Kakao Business Admin Center and Developer Website.
⑧ Biz Wallet operator: Refers to a member who has permission to access Biz Wallet.
A. Biz Wallet Master: Refers to a member who manages and operates the relevant Biz Wallet with master-level permission to access Biz Wallet.
B. Biz Wallet Member: Refers to a member who is granted partial permissions by the Biz Wallet Master to help manage and operate the Biz Wallet.
⑨ Cash: Refers to the monetary amount loaded to Biz Wallet.
⑩ Owner: Refers to an account, among members of the App, who performs important functions (e.g., creation, deletion) of the App as the owner of the App.
⑪ Editor: Refers to an account, among members of the App, who has permission to configure the App in order to carry out the instructions of the owner or process delegated tasks.
① Members shall, in order to create Biz Wallet, provide their personal or business information that Kakao requires according to the Biz Wallet attribute: Personal Biz Wallet or Business Biz Wallet.
② Biz Wallet Masters shall be any member who falls under any of the following: who accepts an invitation to become a Biz Wallet Master from the member who created the Biz Wallet or from the existing Biz Wallet Master; or whose permission is upgraded to be the Biz Wallet Master.
③ Business Biz Wallets shall not have more than one Biz Wallet Master. However, in the case of Personal Biz Wallets, only the member who created the Biz Wallet may become the Biz Wallet Master.
④ Biz Wallet masters shall not enter false information of the member or business of the relevant Biz Wallet or use the information of other businesses or another person without permission; where a business connected to the relevant Business Biz Wallet is closed or the identification information for Personal Biz Wallet is changed, the Biz Wallet master shall request Kakao to change the relevant information in accordance with the procedures stipulated by Kakao.
⑤ Kakao shall not be accountable for any disadvantage arising from the Biz Wallet Master's failure to comply with the preceding paragraph.
⑥ Kakao may restrict members whose service use is restricted for violating the Kakao Business Terms of Service and Operating Policy from creating a Biz Wallet; Kakao may also restrict other members from creating a Biz Wallet with the business information identical to those of the member whose service use is restricted.
① Members may connect the App of which they are an Owner or Editor to the Biz Wallet of which they are an operator. In such cases, it is required to register a card for automatic payment.
② Only one Biz Wallet may be connected to one App; where the member intends to connect other Biz Wallets to the App, the member shall disconnect the existing Biz Wallet connected to the App.
③ Members may use two or more Apps by connecting the Apps to one Biz Wallet.
④ Kakao may not process a member's request to connect/disconnect the App to/from Biz Wallet if it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of receivables depending on the status of the relevant Biz Wallet.
① The unit price, details and changes in API fees shall be posted in a fee page, etc. of the developer website. Also, the details of API called from the App that connects to the Biz Wallet may also be viewed in the Biz Wallet.
② Even if a unit price is changed while using the API, the unit price shall not be applied retroactively without special circumstances.
③ The API fees shall be paid in advance or afterwards, after the member consults in advance an admin of Kakao Developers as to the period of use; the member shall pay a billing amount through the Biz Wallet service in accordance with the procedures stipulated by Kakao.
④ The API fees shall be calculated in a unit of one month from the first day to the last day thereof.
⑤ Where the fees are not paid by the designated payment deadline in accordance with paragraph 3 above, the member may be subject to disadvantages, such as restricted API calls from the app, etc.
⑥ Where a member has an objection to the fees charged, etc., the member may raise an objection in writing or by email no later than six months from the date of charge, and Kakao shall notify the member of the validity and results of objection.
① The API fees shall be deducted from the Cash already loaded in the Biz Wallet connected to the App; and the remaining fees, if any, shall be subject to automatic payment. However, the payment processing time may differ by "Cash" and "Automatic payment" methods; where the API fees are not paid, the member may be subject to disadvantages, such as restricted use, under these Terms of Service.
② Kakao shall issue documentary evidence for charging or receiving the API fees (e.g., tax invoice, cash receipt) in unit of Biz Wallet (i.e., Personal or Business).
③ Where a member cancels the service use agreement under these Terms of Service, the member shall pay the API fees up to when the member has stopped using the service.
① Cash may be loaded by credit card or in cash. The member shall be responsible for loading Cash at their own discretion.
② Where the member loads Cash in their Biz Wallet, Cash may be deducted by an member of all Apps connected to the Biz Wallet; the remaining Cash of a member who is dismissed or withdrawn from the Biz Wallet cannot be used by the member.
③ Biz Wallet Masters and Members may request a refund of the remaining Cash. However, an account to receive the refund shall be registered only by the Biz Wallet Master: a personal account in the name of the Biz Wallet Master in the case of Personal Biz Wallet; a personal account in the name of the business operator or a business account in the name of the Biz Wallet-registered business in the case of Business Biz Wallet; or a corporate account in the name of the Biz Wallet-registered corporation in the case of Corporate Biz Wallet.
④ Members shall be deemed to agree that the fees accrued from Biz Wallet subject to automatic payment may be paid without a separate verification process.
⑤ Cards for automatic payment connected to Biz Wallet may be categorized into payment card and backup cards; the fees shall, in principle, be paid by the payment card, and where the fees are not paid properly by the payment card, the fees shall be paid by the backup cards in the order of configuration.
⑥ Where there is no outstanding amount to be paid by an automatic payment card connected to Biz Wallet, the member who owns the card or the Biz Wallet operator may disconnect the card.
⑦ Where there is an outstanding amount to be paid by an automatic payment card connected to Biz Wallet, only the member who owns the card or the Biz Wallet Master may disconnect the card. However, where no backup card is connected to the Biz Wallet, the payment card may be disconnected only after either when the member who owns the payment card pays the outstanding amount to be paid or the Master registers their own card and accepts the outstanding amount to be paid.
⑧ Where the payment card connected to the Biz Wallet is disconnected, the fees accrued from the Biz Wallet shall be paid by the changed payment card. However, where no payment card is changed, a backup card shall become the payment card.
⑨ Where the fees are not properly paid by the automatic payment card connected to the Biz Wallet, the member shall pay the fees to Kakao in another way without delay; where the member delays or fails to pay the fees, Kakao may restrict the member from using the service, such as blocking API calls, under these Terms of Service.
① The Terms of Service shall become effective on December 1, 2024. However, the Terms of Service shall be applied to new members on the day they subscribe to the Service if they subscribe between the Terms of Service announcement date and one (1) day prior to the effective date.
View the previous versions of Kakao Developers Terms of Service.