Naver shares surge 18% on AI policy optimism

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Naver shares surge 18% on AI policy optimism

Published: 18 Jun. 2025, 17:54 Updated: 18 Jun. 2025, 19:06

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Naver's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi [NEWS1]

Shares of Naver soared almost 18 percent on Wednesday after JP Morgan raised its target price on expectations that the tech firm will benefit from the new Lee Jae Myung administration's AI policies, while maintaining an overweight rating.

Naver, listed on the main Kospi bourse, closed at a 52-week high of 243,500 won ($177), up 17.92 percent from the previous trading session. It also hit a 52-week intraday high of 244,500 won.

JP Morgan had earlier raised Naver's target price to 270,000 won from the previous 250,000 won on projections that the tech firm will profit from President Lee's pledges to develop Korea's AI production capabilities, a concept increasingly referred to as sovereign AI.

The president's plans include establishing a 100 trillion won fund backed by private and public capital to strengthen the country's AI infrastructure, such as securing GPUs essential for data centers. On Sunday, he appointed Ha Jung-woo, head of the Future AI Center at Naver, as presidential secretary for AI policy, a newly minted position.

JP Morgan said investor sentiment was buoyed by Ha's appointment amid the government's prioritization of data center construction and computing infrastructure acquisition.

Naver has a "superior" position in Korea's AI market, which would make them invaluable to the government's sovereign AI project, the report said.

While the New York-based investment bank said it was too early to evaluate the economic benefits of the government's AI policy, Naver was expected to nevertheless capitalize in the AI and cloud market.

Investors were also mollified by Naver’s denial that it was hacked. Naver clarified Tuesday that the data on Smart Store sellers was public information, not stolen, after reports emerged that the data was being traded on the dark web.

Ha Jung-woo, head of the Future AI Center at Naver, attends a briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on June 15. President Lee Jae Myung appointed Ha as presidential secretary for AI policy. [NEWS1]

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT presented a plan outlining the investment of more than 16 trillion won into Korea's AI infrastructure over the next five years to the presidential committee for state affairs on Wednesday.

The plan includes purchasing 50,000 GPUs, constructing AI data centers, establishing clusters that aggregate and connect AI training data from the private and public, increasing investments in AI research and development and creating AI innovation hubs.

Blue-chip IT shares soared as investors were fueled by AI optimism.

Kakao, the operator of Korea's most-used messenger app, jumped 6.56 percent, software company Douzone Bizon rose 12.13 percent and NHN gained 6.56 percent.

Shares of game firms, closely tied to AI advancements, rose too. NCsoft added 8.73 percent, Kakao Games gained 5.73 percent and Netmarble rose 5.61 percent.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]