Naver Appoints MZ Generation's Choi Soo-yeon as Next CEO (Comprehensive)

Choi Soo-yeon, Nominee for CEO of Naver

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Naver has appointed Choi Soo-yeon, born in 1981 and the head leader of the Global Business Support Department, as its next CEO. This is a bold personnel move by Naver, which has been calling for reform. Naver plans to reform its organization by selecting young talent as leaders and will actively expand its global business.

On the afternoon of the 17th, Naver held a board meeting and approved Choi, the head leader responsible for global business support, as the next CEO nominee. Choi will be officially appointed as the next CEO after approval at the shareholders' meeting scheduled for March next year and a board resolution. Kim Nam-sun, the head leader in charge of business development, investment, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), has been nominated as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Naver has been preparing organizational changes following an incident in May where an employee took extreme measures due to workplace harassment. Han Seong-sook, Naver’s CEO, also hinted at leadership changes during the National Assembly audit in October. Although Han’s term was set to last until March 2023, about 1 year and 4 months remaining, she will step down early.

The two nominees will activate the 'Naver Transition Task Force (TF)' to accelerate global management, establish new leadership for organizational culture improvement, and reorganize the organizational structure.

Choi, the head leader, joined NHN, the predecessor of Naver, in 2005, attended Yonsei University Law School and Harvard Law School in the U.S., and rejoined Naver in 2019 to work in the Global Business Support Department.

The board highly evaluated Choi’s problem-solving skills demonstrated while supporting domestic and international business overall, as well as her broad understanding of the company’s business strategy and market.

Kim Nam-sun, Naver CFO Nominee

Kim, nominated as CFO, has worked as an expert in the global finance sector. Kim graduated from Harvard Law School and worked at Morgan Stanley, Macquarie, and others. Since joining Naver last year, he has led major deals such as the acquisition of Wattpad and share exchanges with Emart and Shinsegae. The management judged Kim to be the right person to solidify the management system and further strengthen Naver’s corporate competitiveness in the global market.

Meanwhile, CEO Han and the existing management team will assist with the handover of duties until March next year and take on necessary roles to ensure Naver can continue its global challenges.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.