Tving, a South Korean online streaming (OTT) platform, has recruited a seasoned service planning expert from Naver. The move is interpreted as a strategic step to not only tackle the dual challenges of Netflix's dominance and domestic market saturation but also to expand aggressively into global markets.
According to industry sources on Wednesday, Tving recently appointed Park Ji-eun, former vice president of Naver Webtoon, as its new chief product officer (CPO). Park, who began her career as a user experience (UX) designer, joined Naver in 2012 and built hands-on expertise across key affiliates including Line, Naver Webtoon and Wattpad. She spent the past three years serving as CPO at Wattpad's Canadian headquarters, accumulating extensive global business experience. At Tving, she will oversee all services, including the advancement of live Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) broadcasts.
The recruitment stems from a growing sense of urgency that survival is difficult under the existing domestic-focused business model. Netflix currently dominates the Korean market with roughly 60% share by monthly active users (MAU). The market itself is saturated, leaving little room for significant additional growth.
To break through the low-growth environment, Tving plans to leverage Park's background at Naver Webtoon, which overcame stagnation by pioneering overseas markets. In tandem, the company has established a new "global business team" targeting Asia and North America and is accelerating hiring of related talent.
"The appointment of CPO Park is a decision to innovatively enhance our platform strategy and user experience," a Tving official said. "We expect the addition of an expert with both domestic and international capabilities to play a pivotal role in strengthening Tving's competitiveness and creating new growth engines."