Lee Hae-jin, 58, founder of Naver, has returned as chairman of the board after a seven-year hiatus, declaring the company’s intent to compete head-on with global tech giants in the artificial intelligence (AI) race.
At Naver’s annual general meeting on Mar. 26, shareholders approved Lee’s appointment as an internal director and re-elected CEO Choi Soo-yeon, 44, to the board.Following the meeting, the board convened and appointed Lee as its chairman.
Addressing shareholders, Lee remarked, “Naver, which began in the internet era, successfully navigated the challenges of the mobile environment by transforming innovative technologies into services most needed by users. This was achieved through our passion and the unique determination that allowed us to compete differently from companies with greater market presence and capital.”
He said Naver had managed to rise as S. Korea’s leading tech company by fending off challenges from global giants like Google, and stressed that the same spirit would carry the company into the AI era. He also emphasized, “As we enter the AI era, Naver’s core principles remain unchanged.”
The comment signaled Naver’s resolve to stick to its homegrown approach and battle tech behemoths on its own terms, just as it had done before.
A startup industry insider noted, “After deciding to return as chairman, Lee deliberated extensively, to the point of noticeable weight loss.He aims to empower the management team to boldly advance Naver’s AI strategy, providing support and encouragement.”
Lee’s return to the forefront of Naver’s management is driven by the intensifying global AI competition.To avoid falling behind tech giants investing astronomical sums into AI model development, Naver sees the need to launch a full-scale push into AI to keep pace with global leaders.
Lee stated, “Naver is preparing with a sense of mission to lead in the AI era.Just as we expanded internationally during the mobile era, we will turn this crisis into an opportunity.”
Historically, Naver has established a unique platform ecosystem in S. Korea, maintaining dominance in the domestic search market despite the entry of American tech companies in the 2000s. In August 2023, Naver introduced its AI language model, ‘HyperCLOVA X,’ marking its entry into the AI competition.
However, over the past decade, Naver has ceded some domestic search market share to Google, and its AI performance and market presence are perceived as lagging behind major tech firms. Consequently, Naver’s stock price has halved over the past four years.
With Lee’s return, Naver’s ‘Sovereign AI’ strategy is expected to accelerate.Sovereign AI refers to indigenous AI systems tailored to specific countries or regions, possessing a deep understanding of local languages, cultures, and societies.
With Lee’s return, Naver is likely to step up its push for what it calls a “Sovereign AI” strategy — indigenous AI systems tailored to specific countries or regions, with a deep understanding of local languages, cultures, and societies.
“It’s a sad thing if the world ends up using just one or two search engines and AI platforms,” Lee said. “Just as S. Korea has both Google and Naver, it’s our mission to protect the diversity of the internet.”
The company aims to build an independent AI ecosystem based on HyperCLOVA X, which specializes in the Korean language and culture, to preserve AI sovereignty and secure competitiveness. It plans to further enhance HyperCLOVA X and integrate AI across all of its services—including search, shopping, and maps—under what it calls its “On-Service AI” initiative.
Lee also said he would step down from his role as Global Investment Officer to focus on his duties as board chairman, pledging to support younger executives and engineers so they can lead more boldly.
At the shareholders’ meeting, CEO Choi Soo-yeon secured another term after leading Naver to become the first S. Korean internet company to surpass 10 trillion won (about $6.8 billion) in annual revenue last year. Of the six new executive appointments, five were born in the 1980s.
