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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Seoul, September 23, 2025 – Naver announced that it has acquired a portion of existing shares in online grocery platform Kurly, in a move aimed at reinforcing strategic collaboration between the two companies.
While the company did not disclose the exact amount, industry sources estimate the investment to be in the range of KRW 50–60 billion (approximately USD 35–45 million).
Earlier this month, Naver expanded its partnership with Kurly by launching Kurly N Mart on its shopping app, Naver Plus Store, further integrating Kurly’s grocery services into Naver’s e-commerce ecosystem.
Naver has been actively building its logistics and e-commerce capabilities in recent years. In 2020, the company executed a KRW 600 billion share swap with CJ Logistics, leveraging CJ’s nationwide delivery infrastructure to compete with Coupang’s “Rocket Delivery” service.
The Korean e-commerce market, long dominated by Coupang, is now shaping into a three-way competition. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) recently granted conditional approval for a joint venture between Shinsegae and Alibaba, signaling intensifying competition in the sector.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
