Naver Global Investment Officer and founder Lee Hae-jin (Naver)
Naver Global Investment Officer and founder Lee Hae-jin (Naver)

Naver founder Lee Hae-jin will likely return as chair of the board at South Korea's internet giant, reclaiming a leadership role seven years after stepping down to focus on overseas expansion.

According to industry sources on Wednesday, Naver’s board of directors plans to approve a proposal Friday to reinstate Lee as an internal director ahead of the shareholder meeting in March.

Once approved by shareholders, he is expected to take on the role of board chair.

A Naver official declined to confirm the development, saying, “There is nothing we can disclose at this time.”

Lee resigned as chair in 2017 to steer Naver’s global expansion in the untapped European and US markets, serving as the global investment officer.

With Lee back on the board, Naver is expected to accelerate its push into artificial intelligence amid intensifying global competition from major players such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Lee has been a strong advocate for securing “sovereign AI,” emphasizing the need for South Korea to develop and produce its own AI technologies to remain competitive.

Meanwhile, Naver’s rival Kakao announced Tuesday a strategic partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT’s technology into its flagship KakaoTalk messenger and other key services.

Amid concerns that Naver could fall behind in the AI race, Lee’s comeback is seen as an effort to help the company regain momentum. Last year, he met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to discuss collaboration on sovereign AI.

Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon, appointed in 2022, is widely expected to retain her position. Under Choi’s leadership, Naver’s annual revenue is projected to have surpassed 10 trillion won ($6.9 billion) last year.

Excitement built around the news of Lee's return on Wednesday, with Naver shares surging 4.8 percent to close at 229,000 won, at one point hitting a new 52-week intraday high.