[People 人] Chae Seon-ju, 'Lee Hae-jin's Trusted Aide' Joining the Board, Must Overcome Controversy and Gain Trust

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Attention in the IT industry is focused on Chaesunju, Vice President of Naver, who is called ‘Lee Hae-jin’s right-hand man’ and ‘the reclusive supporter.’ With the appointment of CEO Choi Sooyeon from the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) and Vice President Chae from Generation X (born in the 1970s) joining the board, there are mixed feelings of concern and expectation about whether Naver will bring new changes after overcoming past controversies.

◆ First Generation of the IT Industry = Vice President Chae, a graduate of Incheon Girls’ High School and Incheon National University’s Department of Business Administration, briefly worked at Daewoo Motor Sales before moving to the IT industry. She is part of the ‘first generation of the IT industry,’ having worked alongside Lee Hae-jin, Naver’s Global Investment Officer (GIO), and Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao’s Board.

Vice President Chae joined Naver in its early days in 2000 and has been responsible for public relations, external policies, and marketing for over 20 years. She rose to the position of Chief Communications Officer (CCO), overseeing Naver’s communications and management support operations.

Within the board, she has been praised as someone who "has successfully coordinated Naver’s diverse internal and external stakeholders under a balanced governance system and has greatly contributed to shaping Naver’s image as a company pursuing co-growth as the person responsible for communication connecting Naver internally and externally."

Her loyalty to the company is also considerable. When Chairman Kim founded Kakao in 2010, he offered a substantial amount of stock options to recruit her, but she decided to remain at Naver, showing loyalty to the company. This is a key reason why GIO Lee’s trust in her is strong. In 2015, she was named one of the ‘25 Power Women in the Economy Who Broke the Glass Ceiling’ by an economic media outlet.

◆ Contribution to Naver’s ‘Coexistence’ Image = Inside the company, it is said that Vice President Chae has made the greatest contribution to the ‘coexistence’ image that Naver has built so far. In fact, she was the original planner of Naver’s flagship campaign ‘Project Flower,’ which is regarded as a model for a coexistence ecosystem between platforms and small business owners.

Project Flower, launched by Naver in 2016, proposed a growth method through a fountain effect rather than a trickle-down effect, leading to the co-growth of neighborhood markets and Naver. It has been evaluated as offering a new solution for ‘coexistence’ to many internet companies. Through the fountain fund using Project Flower, more than 300 billion KRW has been spent over four years to support the growth of creators and business operators. Small and medium-sized merchants can easily pioneer digital sales channels, receive tailored support at each growth stage, and create a virtuous cycle where their growth leads to Naver’s growth.

The public recruitment of the site for Naver’s second data center was also Vice President Chae’s idea. Initially, Naver planned to build the second data center in Yongin, but conflicts with local governments and residents caused difficulties. Following Vice President Chae’s proposal, the site selection was changed to a public recruitment method, selecting Sejong as the site for the second data center in a win-win manner rather than conflict.

◆ Trial of Responsibility for ‘Workplace Power Abuse’ Controversy = Last year was a year of trials for Vice President Chae. A controversy over ‘workplace power abuse’ erupted after an employee took extreme measures due to workplace harassment. At that time, Vice President Chae, who was in charge of personnel, faced calls for responsibility and voluntarily stepped down from her CCO position.

She also faced difficulties during the process of being appointed as an inside director. Voices were raised that it was inappropriate for the vice president who was in charge of personnel at the time of the employee’s death to rise to a higher position again. Employees used their shareholder voting rights in the online general meeting to cast dissenting votes and conducted a dissent certification relay by capturing screenshots.

Former CEO Han Seongsook personally explained, "As part of management reform, the CXO stepped down, but a talent with 20 years of rich knowledge about the company was needed to build new leadership and establish communication policies between external partners and stakeholders," but internal opinion remains unfavorable toward Vice President Chae.

Naver is pursuing a new organizational culture with the appointment of CEO Choi, born in 1981. Vice President Chae’s appointment as an inside director is the answer proposed by founder GIO Lee, judging that newness alone cannot fill Naver’s shortcomings. Although there are challenges to be solved, it is said that this personnel move cannot be outright declared a failure.

Vice President Chae faces two tasks: a personal mission to rebuild trust among Naver members and to assist CEO Choi in ensuring a smooth generational transition at Naver. For now, Vice President Chae is expected to focus on establishing Naver’s external policies and strengthening ESG management. Attention is focused on whether she can overcome the controversies surrounding her and put Naver on a new growth trajectory.