Lee Hae-jin
Naver (NHN)
South Korea’s dominant search engine and internet portal · Seongnam, South Korea
The founder
Lee Hae-jin, a Seoul National University computer science graduate, joined Samsung SDS as an engineer and led an internal search-engine project that became Naver.com, launched in June 1999 as Samsung SDS’s first in-house startup. In 2000 Naver merged with gaming portal Hangame to form NHN Corporation ("Next Human Network"); Lee has stepped in and out of the chairman role since, most recently returning in March 2025 to focus on Naver’s sovereign AI strategy.
How it was taken public
NHN Corporation — the merged Naver/Hangame entity — listed on the KOSDAQ exchange in October 2002, a milestone that funded its growth into Korea’s dominant search engine and internet portal (the exact amount raised isn’t reliably documented in available records). Naver later split from its gaming unit and transferred to the KOSPI main board in November 2008.
Sourced & verified
In the news
Coverage of the Naver (NHN) deal from independent outlets — read the original reporting, not just our summary.
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