ASIA-PACIFIC – SOUTH KOREA, OCTOBER 29, 2012 – Yahoo is set to close its South Korean web portal and an Internet advertising business, cutting its losses in a market where it has struggled for over a decade.
The South Korean office, which employs over 200 people, will shut down by the end of 2012. In a statement, Yahoo Korea said the closure is part of efforts to "create a stronger global business by realigning resources".
Yahoo entered South Korea in 1997, operating a namesake portal in Korean and an Internet advertising company, Overture Korea.
It has struggled with market share as users patronized local online portals like Naver and Daum.
Yahoo Korea was also affected by the rapid adoption of smartphones and the mobile Internet, which made it more difficult to attract advertisers to web portals designed for desktop computers. Overture Korea added to problems by failing to renew key advertising deals.
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