Han Sung-sook, Naver’s First Female CEO and Alumna, Appointed Minister of SMEs and Startups
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- Writer 커뮤니케이션팀
- 보도일자 2025-07-25
Alumna Han Seong-sook (Class of ’85, Dept. of English Language and Literature), the first female CEO of Naver, was appointed Minister of SMEs and Startups on Thursday, July 24. In her inaugural remarks, Minister Han stated, “I will prioritize efforts to establish social and disaster safety nets for small business owners.”
Graduating from our university’s Dept. of English Language and Literature, Han began her career as a reporter for an IT trade publication. She later became a founding member of Empas, serving as head of the search business division, and held key roles at NHN—the predecessor of Naver—including director of the Search Quality Center and head of the Service Division.
Han played a leading role in Naver’s rise to become the top internet company in Korea, serving as Senior Vice President of Naver Services and then as CEO from March 2017 for about five years.
As the first female CEO in Korea’s internet industry, Han received recognition for her leadership, including being named among Fortune’s “50 Most Powerful Women Global Leaders” in Asia for four consecutive years (2017–2020).
Even after graduating, Han has maintained a close connection with her alma mater. In July 2022, she donated 100 million won, expressing her hope that “Sookmyung’s juniors will grow into gentle forces of change and become beacons for the future.” This development fund, established under the names of her parents Han Kyung-seok and Lee Do-young, is used as a scholarship for the Dept. of English Language and Literature.
In May of the same year, during a special lecture at the university, she advised students, “It’s important to have your own standards, not someone else’s. Don’t just follow promising jobs; clarify in your own words what you love and which types of industries suit you best.”