This photo shows Naver Corp.’s headquarters in Seongnam, south Seoul, on Nov. 19, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top portal operator Naver Corp. is currently engaged in a tense battle with SK Telecom Co., the country’s leading wireless carrier, over the recruitment of skilled employees in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
Naver Cloud, a cloud computing solutions unit under Naver, recently presented evidence to SK Telecom, via a law firm, requesting the cessation of recruitment from its AI workforce.
Jeong Seok-geun, Chief Strategy Officer of Naver Cloud, along with five senior executives who closely collaborated with him, submitted their resignations to join SK Telecom.
Jeong played a crucial role in the development and management of Naver’s flagship AI platform, HyperCLOVA, in 2021.
Naver alleged that SK Telecom’s actions in this matter violated non-competition clauses outlined in the poached employees’ contracts, as well as laws like the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.
“There appears to be a misunderstanding, and we will resolve the issue through communication with Naver Cloud,” stated SK Telecom in response.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
