JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s head of investment banking in South Korea Young-ki Kim is leaving the US bank to join internet giant Naver Corp.
(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s head of investment banking in South Korea Young-ki Kim is leaving the US bank to join internet giant Naver Corp.
Kim, a managing director based in Seoul who was named to his current role in April, is set to become chief financial officer for two of Naver’s units, a Naver spokesperson said in response to a Bloomberg News query. The businesses include Naver Z, which houses metaverse platform Zepeto, and resale and trading platform KREAM, the spokesperson said.
The banker is expected to start at Naver in February, the spokesperson said. A representative for JPMorgan declined to comment on the matter.
Naver provides South Korea’s top search portal as well as services including its Snow camera app, digital comics platform Webtoon and social media app Band, as well as Zepeto, according to its website. Zepeto has more than 300 million registered users as of March 4, a press release shows.
The tech company’s shares have dropped nearly 51% this year, valuing it at about $23.3 billion. In October, Naver agreed to buy online secondhand-fashion marketplace Poshmark Inc. in a deal valued at about $1.2 billion.
Last year, Naver Z raised 223.6 billion won ($170 million) from SoftBank Group Corp., Hybe Co., JYP Entertainment Corp., YG Plus, Mirae Asset Capital and others. Zepeto formed a partnership with Thailand’s True Corp. earlier this year to bring the emerging technology to users in one of the region’s fastest growing digital economies.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
