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​Kakao Navi use hits 12m during Korean New Year

Kakao Navi, the navigation app by Korean chat giant Kakao, was used 12 million times in the five days of the country's Asian Lunar New Year holiday period.
Written by Cho Mu-Hyun, Contributing Writer

Navigation app Kakao Navi was used 12 million times over five days during the Lunar New Year holidays in South Korea, Kakao has said.

Kakao said it calculated usage from January 26, the day before the holiday period began, to January 31. Usage was highest for January 28, the first day of the Korean lunar calendar, 30 percent higher than the days before and after.

It was the highest use in a given time on its record, the company said, adding that it only counted figures for when the app actively began its guide, excluding searches and destination research.

Gas stations and marts were the most popular destinations, followed by shopping malls and transportation stations. Starfield Hanam shopping mall was the number one destination, while Incheon International Airport was ranked fourth, Kakao said.

Kakao Navi launched last year in February after Kakao acquired local navigation app provider Kimgisa in 2015.

Kakao, which runs South Korea's most popular chat app KakaoTalk, has been acquiring new services that it is attempting to synergize with it messenger.

It added 3D sky view to its map service Kakao Map last September.

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