Naver reports record executive pay led by former minister Han Seong-sook
Naver's latest annual report lays out last year’s executive compensation, with the highest total package going to Han Seong-sook, who served as minister of SMEs and Startups. The report shows she received more than 103.43 billion won from Naver that year, a figure that includes retirement pay and stock options, in addition to smaller salary and other income components.
The company’s current chief executive, Choi Soo-yeon, and board chair Lee Hae-jin both earned eight-figure to nine-figure sums in the hundreds of millions of won, with total compensation exceeding 30 billion won for the CEO and about 24.37 billion won for the chair. Specifically, Choi Soo-yeon’s pay consisted of a 9.0 billion won salary, a 20.61 billion won bonus, and 67.5 million won in other income, with the bonus incorporating restricted stock units tied to stock performance.
Choi’s total for the prior year’s compensation was about 19.69 billion won, meaning last year’s figure rose roughly 54 percent—about 10.6 billion won higher—when compared with 2024. Lee Hae-jin’s pay last year was 24.37 billion won, up from 19.37 billion won in the previous year, with a 15.4 billion won salary and a 7.6 billion won bonus.
Other top Naver executives listed include Cha Seon-ju, head of strategic initiatives, at 20.11 billion won, and Kim Beom-jun, the chief operating officer, at 18.57 billion won. Taken together, the company’s disclosures highlight how leadership compensation at one of Korea’s largest tech platforms is distributed across salary, bonuses, and stock-related rewards.
As of year-end, Naver employed 4,425 people, with an average annual pay of about 134.7 million won, up roughly 1.7 million won from the previous year. The group’s well-known Seongnam campus at the Naver 1784 building is shown as part of its infrastructure in the region.
Context for international readers: Naver operates South Korea’s dominant internet portal and is a major player in search, digital advertising, and tech services, with growing interests in AI, fintech, and cross-border platforms. The compensation figures, including substantial retirement payouts and RSUs, illustrate how Korea’s large tech firms reward leadership and align pay with stock performance. The fact that a sitting government minister previously led the company underscores the close, sometimes watchful relationship between Korea’s public policymakers and major tech groups, a dynamic that matters for policymakers, investors, and multinational tech firms monitoring governance standards, talent competition, and regulatory trends in Asia.