'Business Messenger' Line Works
Meets Japan's Strict Security Standards
Used by Top 10 Insurance Companies
38% Market Share No.1 in 5 Years
Revenue Grows 38 Times Rapidly
[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] In Japan's financial sector, there is hardly anyone who doesn't know about Naver's business messenger 'Line Works.' This is because top 10 companies in the insurance industry, such as Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance and Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, are all using it for business purposes. Recently, GS Group in Korea also became a client of Line Works. GS Caltex conducts its business through Line Works at sales outlets and other locations. With the increase in non-face-to-face work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Line Works, which has succeeded in Japan, has begun to show results in the Korean market as well.
Line Works Conquers Japan Following Line
Jang Kwang-ik, Executive Director of Works Mobile Global Business, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 10th, "The number of Line Works clients in Japan has been doubling every year, and interest in Line Works has also begun to grow in Korea." The adoption of Line Works by GS Group marks a significant milestone as a successful domestic entry.
Line Works is a business messenger developed in 2016 targeting the Japanese market by Works Mobile, in which Naver holds a 62.59% stake. At that time, Japan's situation was similar to Korea's now. More than half of companies were working with personal messengers, so employees' work and personal lives were not separated. Line Works filled this gap and became the industry leader within five years. According to Fuji Chimera Research Institute, a Japanese IT research organization, Line Works holds a 38% market share in the corporate messenger market. Its sales have grown 38 times compared to five years ago.
While Naver Line leads the Japanese messenger market, Line Works is standing out in the corporate market. Line has 85 million users in Japan and holds an 85% market share, making it the nation's messenger. Some even say, "Online communication among Japanese people is effectively conducted through Naver." Executive Director Jang explained, "Line Works is similar to the already successful Line in Japan, making it easy to use and ready to use without training, which is a strength," adding, "It meets the stringent security standards of Japan's financial sector, enhancing its competitiveness." Recently, companies outside the financial sector, such as Sapporo Breweries, have also increased their use of Line Works.
Business Messengers Emerging as a Blue Ocean
The business messenger market is rapidly growing in Korea amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Kakao will launch 'Kakao Work' on the 16th, competing with Line Works. Executive Director Jang said, "Business messengers are emerging as a blue ocean in Korea as well," adding, "Inquiries from companies wishing to join Line Works have increased more than fourfold compared to the previous year."
He predicted that Korean society itself will undergo significant changes with the adoption of business messengers. "In Japan, business messengers changed the way people work and separated work from life. Korea will change in the same way," he said with expectation.
Line Works is interested not only in Japan and Korea but also in other overseas markets. To this end, Naver made a new investment of 42 billion KRW in Works Mobile last March. According to Samjong KPMG, the global business messenger market is expected to grow from $12 billion (about 14.25 trillion KRW) this year to $13.6 billion (about 16.15 trillion KRW) in 2023. Executive Director Jang said, "After Japan and Korea, we are also watching the Southeast Asian and European markets. Based on Naver's 'Papago' translation technology, collaboration with China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Europe is possible, which is an advantage," adding, "Our goal is to become Asia's number one business messenger."
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