Latest news with #NaverCorp
Forbes
08-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Choi Soo-yeon
Soo-yeon Choi became the CEO of Naver, South Korea's biggest internet company, in 2022. She is its second female CEO and its youngest non-founder CEO (she was 40 when she was appointed to the position). Choi first worked at Naver, which is often compared to Google, in 2005 in its marketing and public relations division. She got a law degree and worked as a lawyer before returning to Naver in 2019. In the announcement about Choi's appointment as CEO, the Naver board praised her problem-solving abilities and her "deep" understanding of global markets. Personal Stats Age 43 Residence South Korea
![[Yoo Choon-sik] Power grid bottlenecks could stall Lee's AI ambitions](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2025%2F06%2F22%2Fnews-p.v1.20250622.73b5c79dba6b4331ad7cb60cb703975b_T1.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
![[Yoo Choon-sik] Power grid bottlenecks could stall Lee's AI ambitions](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fall-logos-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fkoreaherald.com.png&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Korea Herald
23-06-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
[Yoo Choon-sik] Power grid bottlenecks could stall Lee's AI ambitions
President Lee Jae Myung's trip to Ulsan late last week drew attention from around the world as an event that clearly demonstrated his government's pledge to place top policy priority on fostering the AI industry as a means to help South Korea overcome economic challenges and discover a new engine of growth. While attending a ceremony to mark the start of a massive project to establish a high-performance artificial intelligence data center in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan, he expressed his appreciation to business executives for their hard work and promised his government's full support for more investment in the AI sector. His near-absolute control of both the administration and the legislature bodes well for President Lee's ability to implement his election pledges to narrow the country's seemingly widening gap not only with global leaders but also with its peers in AI. Lee's first two weeks in office were well received: stock prices soared, the currency strengthened and public approval ratings increased from the levels seen before the election, as investors hoped his control over both the administration and legislature would ensure swift implementation of his promises. These positive responses come even as he has yet to nominate his first cabinet members, who will be responsible for developing detailed policies. This process is expected to take some time, because his first prime minister nominee is himself awaiting confirmation hearings and parliamentary approval. However, Lee has announced several key appointments at the Office of the President, including veteran technocrat and former Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom as his policy chief and influential AI expert Ha Jung-woo of Naver Corp. as his inaugural chief secretary for AI and future planning. These appointments reflect Lee's intention to break from the long-standing tradition of filling key presidential office positions based on personal or political considerations, especially given the fact that Kim has been working in the digital asset sector while Ha has led the tech giant's AI businesses. As one of the early adopters of AI innovation, South Korea once boasted that it was one of only a few countries having a well-established ecosystem of its own, ranging from high-end hardware manufacturers and software developers to homegrown network services and a population receptive to AI. However, several years of low-key policy stances under the previous government have left the country at risk of falling behind its rivals. South Korea ranked 30th in the number of data centers — a key measure of AI infrastructure — with only an estimated 43 centers, a fraction of those in the United States and fewer than a tenth of those even in Germany, Britain, or China, according to Australia-based Cloudscene. Lee has pledged to reverse this trend by channeling tens of billions of dollars in public and private investment into enhancing AI infrastructure, positioning it as the main driver of efforts to close the gap with global leaders and remain in the group of countries closely trailing the US and China. He reaffirmed his promise to provide full support for the AI industry during the ceremony held in Ulsan on Friday, which many high-profile business executives also attended — including leaders of the SK Group, Amazon Web Services, Kakao Corp., Samsung SDS Co., LG AI Research Institute, Lunit, FuriosaAI and Naver Cloud. Power grid problems Meanwhile, Lee also promised during the election campaign a sweeping transition in energy policy, aiming to drastically increase renewable energy generation. South Korea lags far behind major countries in renewable energy generation, which accounted for less than 10 percent of total output in 2023, compared to averages of over 30 percent for member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Even without factoring in the accelerating pace of AI innovation and the associated surge in power demand, Lee's ambitious energy plan appears easier said than done, given the South Korean economy's heavy reliance on the manufacturing sector, which requires affordable energy by nature. In 2023, electricity consumption by the industrial sector accounted for 51.4 percent — far higher than 21.1 percent in the US, 31 percent in Britain, or 43.4 percent in Germany, according to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, citing the latest data from the World Bank and the International Energy Agency. South Korea's latest energy generation targets, set by the previous administration, aim to increase carbon-free generation to 53 percent by 2030, up from an estimated 39.1 percent in 2023. The Lee administration is expected to raise this target further in line with its promises to significantly boost generation from renewable sources such as wind and solar. The real challenge for South Korea's government lies not in finding sites for massive wind or solar power plants — in fact, many provincial governments are eager to host such facilities on remote islands or depopulated land — but in expanding the power grid quickly and economically enough. Experts warn that building new power plants will be meaningless unless distribution networks are in place to connect them with consumers, such as semiconductor factories in the southern regions of Gyeonggi Province. South Korea has already experienced yearslong delays in laying power distribution networks due to conflicts with residents over property rights or health concerns. In one case, a 40-kilometer network took 150 months longer than planned, according to Korea Electric Power Corp. Experts have argued that the central government should take over the responsibility for constructing and managing power networks from KEPCO — the state-run utility — because conflicts with residents are intensifying, and KEPCO's financial condition has deteriorated due to repeated refusals by previous governments to raise electricity rates largely for political reasons. I understand that it is premature to judge whether President Lee is able to tackle these energy policy issues because he is still in his first month in office after being inaugurated without the usual transition period. I do believe, however, that it is far from certain that his AI-first policy could succeed without solving these issues.
The Star
08-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Naver to establish US subsidiary for investment in local startups
SEOUL: South Korean tech giant Naver Corp. said Sunday (June 8) it will establish an investment-focused subsidiary in the United States to support promising local startups there. Naver plans to complete the process of launching the new entity, Naver Ventures, later this month in Silicon Valley, the company said in a press release. Naver Ventures has already selected Twelve Labs, a South Korean artificial intelligence (AI) startup with operations in the US, as its first investment target, the release said. Naver Ventures will be Naver's first overseas investment subsidiary, the company said. "Silicon Valley is a cradle of innovation where skilled professionals and cutting-edge technologies converge. That's why we chose it as the base for our first overseas investment firm," Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said. In light of global economic uncertainty, startups are finding it increasingly difficult to attract investment. Naver aims to help these companies secure stable funding and continue developing their technologies and operations in the US market, she said. Naver founder Lee Hae-jin (pic) said: "Diversity is increasingly important in the AI era. That's why collaborations with a broad range of partners are essential for Naver." - The Korea Herald/ANN
Korea Herald
08-06-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Naver to establish US subsidiary for investment in local startups
South Korean tech giant Naver Corp. said Sunday it will establish an investment-focused subsidiary in the United States to support promising local startups there. Naver plans to complete the process of launching the new entity, Naver Ventures, later this month in Silicon Valley, the company said in a press release. Naver Ventures has already selected Twelve Labs, a South Korean artificial intelligence (AI) startup with operations in the US, as its first investment target, the release said. Naver Ventures will be Naver's first overseas investment subsidiary, the company said. "Silicon Valley is a cradle of innovation where skilled professionals and cutting-edge technologies converge. That's why we chose it as the base for our first overseas investment firm," Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said. In light of global economic uncertainty, startups are finding it increasingly difficult to attract investment. Naver aims to help these companies secure stable funding and continue developing their technologies and operations in the US market, she said. Naver founder Lee Hae-jin said: "Diversity is increasingly important in the AI era. That's why collaborations with a broad range of partners are essential for Naver." (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
28-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Naver completes deal to set up joint venture in Saudi Arabia
South Korean tech giant Naver Corp. said Wednesday it has completed a joint venture agreement with Saudi Arabia's National Housing Company to develop a digital twin platform in the Middle Eastern country. The newly established entity, Naver Innovation, is backed by joint investment from Naver Cloud and NHC's subsidiary, NHC Innovation, according to the company. It will be Naver's first business operation under Naver Arabia, its dedicated base for Middle East operations. Naver Innovation will lead Naver's digital twin platform projects in Saudi Arabia and other smart city initiatives, including the development of a mapping application for public transportation. Digital twin platforms, which provide virtual representations of a real world entity or space, can be used as foundation models in creating smart cities and public digital services, including urban planning, monitoring and predicting natural disasters. In 2023, Naver secured a contract with the Saudi government to develop digital twin platforms for Riyadh and four additional cities. (Yonhap)
