NHN appoints Yang Cheol-ung as CTO, citing need for speed and direction in AI era

NHN has named Yang Cheol-ung, head of its technology division, as its new chief technology officer.

NHN said Thursday it appointed Yang to the CTO role to accelerate its AI-native transformation and strengthen its long-term technology competitiveness.

According to NHN, Yang holds a doctorate in computer science from KAIST and brings more than 20 years of experience in internet infrastructure, traffic optimization, networking, security and cloud technology. He joined NHN Cloud in 2022, where he led the Security Development Lab as its director, overseeing security technology research and development and platform advancement.

In his new role, Yang will use AI to increase the organization's execution speed. He will also systematize the technology roadmap and research and development direction to strengthen the group's overall technology competitiveness, while leading AI adoption across group affiliates and driving the company's AI transformation, or AX, agenda.

Yang took part in a company-wide town hall meeting Wednesday, where he outlined "speed and direction" as the two defining keywords for a technology organization in the AI era. He said AI should be used to boost organizational productivity and execution, while careful prioritization of the technology roadmap and business direction is equally critical.

"AI is becoming more than just a tool — it is becoming a colleague we work alongside," Yang said. "Moving fast matters, but moving in the right direction matters just as much. I will connect and create synergies across the group's technology capabilities, grounded in strategic thinking and strong execution."

Meanwhile, NHN used the occasion to restructure its C-suite leadership. The executive team now consists of CEO Jung Woo-jin at the helm, alongside CTO Yang Cheol-ung, Chief Financial Officer Ahn Hyun-sik, Chief Legal Officer Hwang Sun-young, Chief Human Resources Officer Lee Seung-chan and Chief Gaming Officer Kim Sang-ho, who oversees the game business division.