Naver Webtoon is moving to a co-CEO structure to refine its market-by-market strategy and strengthen synergies across affiliated services.
The company said on the 1st that it had appointed Kim Yong-soo, president of Webtoon Entertainment, and Kim Kyu-nam, the company's chief administrative officer, as co-CEOs. The appointments are aimed at advancing growth strategies tailored to conditions in each regional market while tightening business coordination across the company.
Kim Yong-soo will remain president of Webtoon Entertainment while serving concurrently as Naver Webtoon CEO. Kim Kyu-nam moves from chief risk officer at Webtoon Entertainment to chief administrative officer and will also take on the Naver Webtoon CEO role.
Rather than serving concurrently as Naver Webtoon's chief executive, Kim Jun-koo will focus more closely on the company's fundamentals as chairman and CEO of Webtoon Entertainment, cultivating long-term growth drivers while supporting the management of each regional unit's leadership.
The reshuffle extends a leadership overhaul at Webtoon Entertainment carried out in March. At that time, the company created the president role and named Kim Yong-soo, then chief strategy officer, to the post. The structure allows Kim Jun-koo to concentrate on long-term growth and future direction while Kim Yong-soo focuses on operational efficiency and faster execution. The latest change extends that upgrade in governance from the headquarters level to regional units.
Kim Kyu-nam joined Naver Webtoon in 2018, overseeing content policy and leading work on operating processes, guidelines and creator support systems. He also handled cooperation with governments and related organizations in various countries to combat the illegal distribution of webtoons.
Going forward, he will support the domestic business so that Webtoon Entertainment CEO Kim Jun-koo can concentrate on global expansion. He plans to focus on broadening communication and collaboration with key stakeholders, including domestic partners and related organizations.
Kim Yong-soo joined in 2022 and played a central role in strengthening the company's financial health and in its initial public offering. He later served as chief strategy officer and head of the global webtoon business division, leading partnerships with global entertainment companies. Since being named president of Webtoon Entertainment in March, he has overseen companywide business operations and execution strategy.
"Co-CEO Kim Kyu-nam will communicate more closely with creators, partner companies and various institutions in Korea to strengthen the domestic creative ecosystem," Naver Webtoon said. "By having President Kim Yong-soo, who oversees companywide business operations, serve concurrently as co-CEO of Naver Webtoon, we will be able to improve strategic consistency and the speed of execution."
"Through this reorganization, Webtoon Entertainment has improved the efficiency of its global governance while strengthening a professional management system suited to market conditions in Korea," Webtoon Entertainment CEO Kim Jun-koo said. "Naver Webtoon will continue to offer full support for the domestic creative ecosystem and for advancing policy, and through this we will keep expanding the webtoon industry."
