Naver (035420.KS) captured more than 60% of Korea's search market last year, widening its lead over Google to claim a dominant first place.
Naver's domestic search market share averaged 62.86% in 2024, up 4.72 percentage points from 58.14% in 2023, according to data released Wednesday by market research firm Internet Trend. This marks the first time Naver's share has exceeded 60% since 2022, when it recorded 61.20%.
Google's share fell 3.45 percentage points year-on-year to 29.55%, widening the gap between the two major platforms. The shift suggests Naver's growing presence in Korea's search market.
Microsoft's Bing search engine ranked third with a 3.12% share, up slightly from 2.91% the previous year. Daum followed in fourth place with 2.94%, down marginally from 3.72%. Other search engines including Zum and Yahoo each held less than 1% of the market.
Industry observers attribute Naver's rebound to the company's efforts to improve search reliability through various technological initiatives. Analysts point particularly to the launch of "AI Briefing," Naver's new AI-powered search feature introduced last year, which has increased user engagement with the platform.
"AI Briefing is expanding in areas where information reliability is important," a Naver official said. "We will continue to provide a differentiated AI search experience unique to Naver based on our distinctive content."
