LINE Founder Jungho Shin Appointed Co-CEO

HONG KONG, CHINA – Media OutReach – 2 April 2019 – LINE Corporation announced today that
Jungho Shin, the Chief WOW Officer (CWO) of LINE Corporation, has also been
appointed Co-CEO of the company. Taking effect April 1, the decision was made
during the company’s board meeting today. As a result, LINE will have two
representative directors: Takeshi Idezawa, the CEO and President, and Jungho
Shin, the Co-CEO and Chief WOW Officer.

 

Shin’s new appointment as Co-CEO comes as the company
moves towards its next stage of development. Uncompromising in his
service-driven mindset and the pursuit of “wow,” Shin has been behind the creation of countless
services–including the globally popular LINE messaging app–and has spearheaded
the company’s growth internationally.

 

As a representative director, Shin will now focus on
bolstering the competitiveness of LINE’s services and promoting
innovation–assuming clear responsibility for creating groundbreaking services
and the company’s operations. CEO and President Takeshi Idezawa will focus on
the management side, as well as revenue, organizational structure, human
resources, and recruitment, to create the best possible environment for the
LINE Group.

 

By having Idezawa and Shin commit to their respective
areas of expertise under this new structure, the aim is to strengthen and
enhance LINE’s management structure, enable nimbler decision-making, and
deliver world-class services that will accelerate LINE’s growth, both in Asia
and globally.

 

LINE began its “second growth phase”
this year, moving into new business domains such as FinTech, AI, and
blockchain. In February, the company appointed Shin as “Chief WOW Officer”,
committing more than ever to pursuing a service-driven mindset and
“WOW”-inducing services. “Service-Driven” describes LINE’s founding
philosophy, which maintains that service competitiveness capable of eclipsing
the competition is essential for a business to grow. “WOW” is a word that sums
up the company’s core value of delivering an unprecedented user experience, something
that is truly newsworthy.

 

For more information on Shin’s
appointment as CWO in February: https://linecorp.com/en/pr/news/en/2019/2625

 

1. New representative director structure (as of April 1)

Takeshi Idezawa, CEO and President 

Jungho Shin, Co-CEO and Chief WOW Officer (currently CWO)

 

2. Representative director profile

Jungho Shin

Co-CEO and Chief WOW Officer of LINE Corporation

Born February 25, 1972

 

Professional
background

July 1999            Joined OZ Technology Inc.

April 2002          Joined Neowiz Games Corporation

June 2005           Joined 1noon Co. Ltd. (now NAVER Corporation)

July 2008           Appointed General Manager of Corporate Planning
Department at Naver Japan Corporation           (now LINE Corporation)

January 2012     Appointed Director of LINE Corporation

March 2013       Appointed
Representative Director of LINE Plus Corporation (current)

April 2014         Appointed Director and Chief Global Officer (CGO) of LINE
Corporation

April 2018         Appointed Director and Chief Service Officer (CSO) of
LINE Corporation

February 2019   Appointed
Chief WOW Officer (CWO) of LINE Corporation (current)

 

About LINE Corporation

Based
in Japan, LINE Corporation (NYSE:LN/TSE:3938) is dedicated to the mission of
“Closing the Distance,” bringing together information, services and people. The
LINE messaging app launched in June 2011 and since then has grown into a
diverse, global ecosystem that includes AI technology, Fintech and more.