Naver expands units, ramps up global investment push

Naver expanded its subsidiary count to 95 after adding 14 new units and appears to be shifting from 2024’s restructuring toward investment and expansion.

The new units include a Middle East headquarters and several investment entities.

The company also set up fintech arm Kream Pay and acquired platform firms including Securities Plus Non-Listed, Place&N (and Place&N Japan), A-Sil and Cenacle; Purple Duck and HJ&L were also added as new subsidiaries to broaden finance and platform links.

The moves follow founder Lee Hae-jin’s return as chairman of the board and his call for more aggressive investment after cutting 22 subsidiaries in 2024.

Kim Kyung-won, a Sejong University professor, said the strategy aims to secure technology through investments and expand via platform acquisitions.

🔗 Source: Chosun Daily

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Naver’s new Saudi headquarters is helping anchor a major digital twin push

Naver Arabia’s regional headquarters supports a Middle East expansion tied to a $100 million contract for a cloud-based “digital twin” platform covering five Saudi cities 1.
The work connects to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and the contract was signed during South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the kingdom 1.
Phase one delivered digital twin platforms for Makkah, Medina, and Jeddah, mapping more than 920,000 buildings across about 6,800 square kilometers 2.
Naver also formed a joint venture called NAVER Innovation with Saudi Arabia’s National Housing Co. (NHC), supported by NAVER Cloud and NHC Innovation (NHC’s digital subsidiary), to build and run a map-based “super app” that covers services like housing and transportation 3.

Naver is a blueprint for tech diplomacy in a multipolar world

Naver’s overseas growth follows a national approach where a leading tech firm exports a digital infrastructure model, rather than selling only products.
An executive said the Saudi project will be the first time a South Korean company exports an IT platform to the Middle East, and it could help South Korean IT startups enter the region 1.
The effort has visible government support, since the Saudi deal was signed during a presidential visit, and Naver’s CEO also joined South Korea’s president on a United Arab Emirates trip connected to business roundtable talks 1.
As countries look for options beyond the U.S. and China, Naver can offer state-supported “digital sovereignty” solutions, meaning locally controlled digital infrastructure and data, which can strengthen economic ties and diplomatic reach 4.