Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver, expressed gratitude to employees on the 31st and stated a commitment to greater changes based on artificial intelligence (AI) next year.
In a newsletter sent to employees that day, Choi noted, "This year was a time when we ran with one mind to regain our competitiveness," and reflected, "It was a time to coldly review the competitiveness of our services, technology, and products, and think about how to be the first choice for users."
He further mentioned that through such times, new services such as Clip and Cheeziz were introduced and significant advancements were made across advertising, search, maps, and Plus Store, stating, "2025 is expected to bring even greater changes across our services with a focus on service AI, so it is still too early to be satisfied."
He expressed gratitude, saying, "Despite much confusion internally and externally in 2024, I thank the employees who protected Naver. It was because of the employees who worked day and night to ensure infrastructure and service stability that we could maintain service trust and conclude the year well."
Choi indicated that "as we have successfully navigated the mobile era through the Corporate Independent Company (CIC) system over the past few years, it is now time to tackle necessary tasks in the AI era with a new organization and atmosphere," adding, "The speed of changes brought by new technologies and environments, including AI, will be faster, so I will strive to lead Naver well with quick decision-making and honesty."
Regarding the Line-Yahoo issue, which has not fully resolved tensions with Japan's SoftBank, he pointed out that "it became a meaningful opportunity to maintain a mid- to long-term strategy without being swayed by short-term situations, while restructuring the collaboration with Line-Yahoo to fit local conditions."
Choi announced, "Next year, we will continue to challenge the Japanese market in webtoons, works, and robot services, and the battlefield for Naver will expand further to the United States, Europe, and Saudi Arabia."