Medicom acquires Wikitree to enhance content distribution in Korea

Launched in 2010, Wikitree is a platform that allows users to post and edit editorial content in data in a manner similar to Wikipedia and major social networking platforms. Content is generated by a network of 9,000 so-called ‘Wiki-reporters’.

Lee Jae-kook, chief executive of Medicom, will serve as editor and publisher of Wikitree. According to a spokesperson for Medicom, the acquisition will help the company “expand its fields of expertise and content production”. The aim is to create a service that offers a “faster, more comprehensive platform for communication” than existing social networks.

However, a source at a multinational PR agency in Korea who did not wish to be identified noted that Wikitree had attracted attention in Korea, but said that it lacked influence as a credible media platform. The source suggested its credibility was likely to be weakened further if it came to be fully integrated as a PR tool.

In response, Kijeong Kelly Kwon, a senior representative from Medicom, described Wikitree as a "representative social news" source and compared it to the Huffington Post on the basis of its mix of breaking news and "special articles that utilise the power of collective intelligence".

Kwon also contested the suggestion that the acquisition would weaken Wikitree's credibility. She said that while Medicom's involvement would result in a new infrastructure for Wikitree, the agency would not interfere with "Wikitree's executive independence and will encourage Wikitree to maintain its focus as much as possible". She stressed that Medicom would not remove news articles or information that shed "a bad light on its clients".

She pointed to the growing trend of information being shared through direct communication and predicted that intermediaries would eventually become superfluous. "Now is the age of creating channels of communication where consumers and information can meet in a more direct way," Kwon said.

In addition to the acquisition, Medicom has partnered with Konan Technology, a social analytics company, to develop a site that will use data mining for analysis of the upcoming presidential election. Snsminsim.com is expected to provide public opinion analysis and operate as a news production site.

Medicom recently entered into partnership with Burson-Marsteller in Korea.

Article updated 19 October 2012