Han Seong-sook
Han Seong-sook (Korean: 한성숙; born 20 June 1967) is a South Korean business executive and former journalist[1] who has served as the minister of SMEs and startups since 2025. She was previously the chief executive officer (CEO) of Naver Corporation from 2017 to 2021. Early life and educationHan Seong-sook was born on 20 June 1967 in Gyeonggi Province. She received a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from Sookmyung Women's University in 1989.[2] CareerEarly careerIn 1989, Han began working as a reporter at Mincom. She later reported for PC Line. In 1995, she led public relations for Nanum Technology.[3][1][2] NaverIn 1997, Han was a founding member of Empas,[3] one of South Korea's most popular search engines in the early 2000s, and led its search business.[4] After Empas was sold to SK Communications in 2007,[5] Han began to serve in executive roles at Naver under its original incarnation as NHN Corporation.[2] In 2017, Han, a Vice President at the time,[6] became CEO of Naver Corporation after Kim Sang-hun stepped down from the role. As the company's first female CEO, Han lead the development of Naver Pay and V Live and Naver's acquisition of Wattpad.[7][8] In 2021, Han stepped down as CEO after a Naver employee committed suicide, citing workplace bullying as the motive,[4][9] and was replaced by Choi Soo-yeon.[10] Han later led Naver's expansion in Europe.[11] RecognitionFrom 2017 to 2021, Fortune included Han on its "Most Powerful Women International" list.[12][13][4] In 2018, Han was listed on Forbes' "The Emergent 25 Asia's Latest Star Businesswomen" list.[14] References
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