No. 1 Korean Game, Internet Company Targeting U.S. Market; Plans Fall Launch Of Online Game Destination
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - July 24, 2006 - NHN (KOSDAQ: NHN), the largest Korean Internet company and the No. 1 gamer site in Asia, has announced plans to launch a premier Internet game destination this fall for the American market.
An Asian powerhouse, NHN has a market cap of more than $5 billion (U.S.) and focuses on serving the 18-34 demographic with its search engine and broad audience that play games. NHN's search portal and game destinations consistently rank No. 1 in Korea, with NHN's search engine commanding nearly 70 percent market share - surpassing both Yahoo! and Google Inc. in that market. NHN also operates the No. 1 game destinations in the massive Japan and China markets, with more than 170 million subscribers in China alone.
Emphasizing the seriousness of the company's intent to be a global player on the Internet, both original NHN founders, NHN Corp. Global CEO Beom-Su Kim and NHN USA CEO Tae-Sik Moon have relocated to the United States to prepare for NHN's entry into the American game market.
"Our plan is to become a major player worldwide, so getting a foothold in the U.S. is a critical step for NHN," said Kim. "The market for online interactive entertainment in the U.S. is much broader than the small hardcore segment and much of it is underserved. We're using our knowledge of how to appeal to a wide range of online gamers and applying it to the American market."
DFC Intelligence predicts the worldwide online game market to quadruple over the next five years to exceed $13 billion in 2011, with North America leading the growth.
In 1998, Beom-Su Kim founded Hangame Communications. Two years later he was instrumental in merging Hangame Communications with Naver Com, creating NHN as it is known today - he is currently NHN's Corp. Global CEO. Before founding NHN with Kim, Moon spent four years at Samsung SDS. Moon then served as vice president of Hangame Communications for several years before heading up NHN game development. Last year, he assumed the role as CEO of NHN USA.
Other senior executives at NHN USA include Jin Lee, vice president of strategy and marketing, and David Moon, director of game services (no relation to Tae-Sik Moon). Before joining NHN two years ago, Lee held a position at IBM as a consultant for their financial management and strategic enterprise divisions.Moon has more than five years of experience with NHN, including positions overseeing global business development, corporate development and product strategy/planning.
NHN USA is strategically located in Mountain View, Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley, close to several potential key technology partners. The U.S. subsidiary, quietly founded a year ago, currently employs 50 people and is expected to grow to more than 80 by end of year.
Media Contacts
Kyle Walker/Kim Uberti
The Bohle Company (for NHN USA)
310-785-0515, ext. 209/215
kyle@bohle.com/kim@bohle.com