Lee Hae-jin, Leading the Charge for 'AI Naver' This Time
by Park Eugenie
Published 05 Feb.2025 09:19(KST)
Updated 05 Feb.2025 13:15(KST)
Expected Return as Chairman of the Board After 7 Years
Founder Who Created the Search Engine Legend Now Takes on the AI Challenge
Naver founder Lee Hae-jin is returning as chairman of the board after seven years. With his comeback, Naver's artificial intelligence (AI) business is expected to accelerate significantly. According to industry sources on the 5th, Naver's board plans to approve the agenda for Lee Hae-jin, Global Investment Officer (GIO), to return as an inside director at the shareholders' meeting on the 7th. After the regular shareholders' meeting in March, Lee is expected to take on the role of chairman of the board.
Lee's return is seen as a decisive move to strengthen Naver's AI competitiveness amid the global AI offensive led by ChatGPT and DeepSeek. This year, Naver has launched its key strategy of integrating AI into all services, called 'On Service AI,' and has entered the global AI competition. Since Lee has emphasized 'Sovereign AI,' Naver's AI strategy is expected to gain momentum following his return. Last year, Lee also met Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, at the 'AI Seoul Summit' held in Seoul.
Lee has experience in elevating Naver from a latecomer to the leading domestic search engine in South Korea. Based on this experience, there is high anticipation both inside and outside the company that he will enhance Naver's competitiveness in the global AI market. Lee served as chairman of the board from 2013 to 2017 before moving to the GIO position. During his tenure as GIO, he led Naver's global competitiveness by successfully acquiring the U.S. C2C (consumer-to-consumer) platform 'Poshmark' and investing in the Spanish secondhand trading platform 'Wallapop.'
Meanwhile, at the March shareholders' meeting where Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon’s three-year term ends, her reappointment is widely expected. With Lee's return, Naver will establish a 'two-top' system with Lee and CEO Choi. Lee is expected to provide direction and advice on AI strategy, while CEO Choi will be responsible for practical management.
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