Naver Webtoon replaces leadership in Korea and Japan simultaneously, aims to grow global IP

[Financial News] Naver Webtoon is developing Japan, alongside Korea, into a global content production hub. Following the replacement of both heads of LINE Digital Frontier (LDF), which oversees its webtoon businesses in Korea and Japan, the company appears to be making a full-fledged push to increase local investment and strengthen content competitiveness. The strategy is seen as an effort to build the two countries’ original webtoon content into key intellectual property (IP) for the global market and expand tangible profitability.
According to industry sources on the 7th, Japan’s LINE Digital Frontier recently appointed Kim Yong-su and Mori Hiroshi as co-CEOs. Takahashi Masamine, a former co-CEO, has moved to a director position at LINE Digital Frontier, while former CEO Kim Shin-bae has stepped down. LINE Digital Frontier operates LINE Manga, Japan’s No. 1 manga app by cumulative downloads, and the e-book sales service eBookJapan. Webtoon Entertainment Inc. holds a 70% stake in LINE Digital Frontier, while Naver Webtoon holds 30%.
CEO Mori is expected to focus on strengthening the competitiveness of local content, while Kim will oversee global business and company-wide strategy. By putting Mori, who has been involved in the business since LINE Manga launched in 2013, and Kim, who has extensive global business experience as co-CEO of Naver Webtoon and president of LINE Digital Frontier’s parent company, Webtoon Entertainment Inc., at the forefront as a dual leadership team, the company has made clear its intention to make Korea and Japan key hubs for discovering and supplying content for the global market. In particular, with Kim taking charge of Japan’s webtoon business as well as Naver Webtoon, the strategy for entering the global content market is expected to gain momentum, supported by faster decision-making.
Starting with its leadership reshuffle, LINE Digital Frontier plans to increase investment in original content created in Japan and strengthen external partnerships to attract new users. It has established a decision-making structure that can expand content created in Japan into global markets by entrusting the Japanese business to executives with a strong understanding of the local content industry while connecting them with executives who have global business experience. Earlier, on the 1st, Naver Webtoon appointed Kim Yong-su and Kim Gyu-nam as its new co-CEOs.
Until now, Naver Webtoon has grown its global business by supplying webtoons created in Korea to overseas platforms, including those in Japan. It has built a global webtoon platform available in around 150 countries, including North America, Europe and Southeast Asia. But as the market has matured, the company appears to have concluded that simply supplying Korean content to local markets has limits when it comes to securing sustainable profitability. Analysts say it is therefore broadening its business model by finding local creators and discovering content in each region, then expanding successful local titles into other countries. Japan, with its large manga readership, is considered the market best suited to this strategy.
A Naver Webtoon representative said, “This decision is intended to further specialize our management structure in line with the next stage of growth as a global content platform company,” adding, “The heads of our subsidiaries in key strategic regions will build a solid foundation for the company’s growth in ways suited to each region’s characteristics, drawing on their respective experience and leadership.”
[email protected] Jang Min-kwon Reporter