Naver taps 40-year-old female exec as new CEO

Naver, the No.1 portal operator and internet firm in South Korea, announced Wednesday it has nominated Choi Soo-yeon as new chief executive officer.

Choi, born in 1981, would mark the youngest leader of the company so far.

The appointment of Choi is interpreted as the tech firm’s intention to overhaul its corporate culture and accelerate business growth in the global market.

A Seoul National University graduate with an engineering degree, Choi joined Naver as an entry-level employee in 2005.

After working at Naver’ communication and marketing teams for four years, Choi enrolled in Yonsei Law School in Korea and Harvard Law School in the United States. She passed the New York State bar examination and has worked as a lawyer in the fields of mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and corporate governance.

Choi joined Naver again in 2019, and has been spearheading the firm’s global businesses.

Naver also appointed Kim Nam-sun who has been in charge of investments and M&A as new chief finance officer, it said.

Kim was born in 1978 and graduated from Harvard Law School. He also worked as an attorney in New York. He worked in the investment banking sector from 2010 to 2020 before joining Naver.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)