Naver's First Open Recruitment Member Led Webtoon’s Global Growth in the US for Eight Years
"Hands-on Experience from Wattpad's $600 Million M&A to Nasdaq Listing"
Early-stage startup investment firm ZD Ventures (ZDVC) announced on August 5 that it has recruited Kim Hyungil, former Head of North America at Webtoon Entertainment, as a Growth Partner.
Kim Hyungil, the new Growth Partner, was a key figure who joined Naver as part of its first open recruitment and led the global expansion of webtoons at the forefront. Starting in 2017, he spent eight years building business operations directly in the United States and pioneering the market.
During this period, Naver acquired Wattpad, the largest web novel platform in North America, for $600 million (approximately 700 billion KRW), and the global monthly active users of the Webtoon group grew to 170 million. After a four-year post-merger integration (PMI) process, Webtoon Entertainment successfully went public on the Nasdaq last year.
Kim's greatest strength lies in his experience of starting with a small team, similar to a startup, and building a local organization of 200 people. He successfully established webtoons, which were unfamiliar in North America at the time, in the mainstream U.S. market, and created various business models utilizing webtoon intellectual property (IP), including advertising, film adaptation, publishing, and gaming. He is credited with contributing to the development of innovative business models by overseeing Webtoon Entertainment US, Wattpad, Webtoon Studio, and the web novel platform Yonder.
Kim stated, "Based on my experience in expanding and scaling up business in the United States, I will share localization know-how and networks with young Korean entrepreneurs," and added, "As a practitioner who has achieved results in the field, not just a consultant, I will provide concrete and practical support."
ZD Ventures said that through this recruitment, it plans to further strengthen the global expansion capabilities of its portfolio companies and minimize potential trial and error when entering the U.S. market, thereby enhancing corporate value. In the first half of this year, ZD Ventures invested in innovative domestic and international companies, including Above Tech, an artificial intelligence (AI) content startup; Shield Security, a global B2B (business-to-business) remittance platform; and Matari, a premium Korean liquor brand.
ZD Ventures CEO Kim Hakyoung said, "It is an honor to be able to contribute to the scale-up of startups and their entry into the U.S. market together with Kim," and added, "We will serve as a bridge connecting senior and junior entrepreneurs and make history in the investment industry."
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