Hansung Sook, New SMEs and Startups Minister Nominee, Is a First-Generation IT Expert

Held Key Positions Including Head of Service Division at Naver
Appointed as CEO of Naver in 2017

Hansung Sook (pictured), Advisor at Naver, has been nominated as the first Minister of SMEs and Startups in the Lee Jaemyung administration.

On the afternoon of June 23, Kang Hoonshik, Chief Presidential Secretary, announced at a briefing that Advisor Han had been nominated as the inaugural Minister of SMEs and Startups for the new administration.

Candidate Han was born in Gyeonggi Province. She graduated from the Department of English Language and Literature at Sookmyung Women's University in 1989 and began her career as a journalist at Mincom. Starting in December 1994, she served as a director at Knowledge Powerhouse and, as a founding member of Empas, led the Search Business Division at Empas until July 2006.

Subsequently, in 2007, she joined NHN, the predecessor of Naver, where she held key positions including Head of Search Quality Center, Head of Service Division, and Executive Director of Services. In March 2017, she became CEO of Naver, stepped down in March 2022 to lead European business development, and was appointed as an advisor earlier this year.

During the period when smartphones became widespread, Candidate Han specialized Naver as a mobile platform and contributed to the expansion of its global services. Internally, she is recognized for her open communication skills and rational leadership.