[Interview] Shin Ju-won, CEO of Chekorporation

At Chekorporation's office in Gayang-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, the phones rarely go quiet — consultations and customer management keep staff constantly busy. Most employees are women, and many are mothers juggling work with raising children. That same demographic was the market CEO Shin Ju-won had her eye on from the start.

The company's platform, Cheheomdanshidae — a review-activity service — takes a fundamentally different approach from conventional influencer marketing platforms. Rather than connecting advertisers such as restaurants and businesses with bloggers or influencers, Chekorporation built a B2C model in which ordinary users pay a subscription fee and receive support for blog management, content creation and other review activities.

"Where existing review platforms aim to boost sales for business owners, we provide an environment where everyday users can receive sponsorships and take part in activities themselves," Shin said in an interview Wednesday. "The core of what we do is helping women whose time and mobility are constrained by childcare to gain new experiences and opportunities in short windows of time."

About 90 percent of current users are women with children, with the largest age group spanning the late 20s to the mid-to-late 40s.

Shin's decision to enter this market grew out of her own experience as a blogger. After starting an advertising agency as a sole proprietor in 2016, she began exploring new revenue streams and drew on memories of discovering various products and programs through her blog, eventually weaving that experience into a business concept.

Her first test group was 20 to 30 acquaintances. The response was positive, but building a viable revenue model proved difficult. Her advertising agency could land contracts worth millions of won per deal, while the initial subscription product charged users only tens of thousands of won a month.

Shin spent the first six months wrestling with the profitability question. Steady repeat purchases and user referrals eventually confirmed the platform's growth potential, and she gradually shifted the company's focus from advertising to Cheheomdanshidae.

The business has since expanded rapidly. The company now has about 73 employees, including remote workers. Monthly sales, which stood at around 400 million won ($292,000) early this year, have recently climbed to around 650 million won. The company projects annual sales of more than 7.5 billion won this year.

The membership target for this year is 6,500. The subscription renewal rate currently stands at about 65 percent, and the company is focused on pushing that figure to 80 percent — a foundation it hopes will carry annual sales to 10 billion won.

"In a membership business, attracting new customers matters, but providing value that keeps existing users coming back is even more important," Shin said. "When both membership size and renewal rates rise together, the revenue base becomes far more stable."

One of Chekorporation's competitive strengths is that its employees share the same life circumstances as its customers. The core user base is women raising children, and many staff members in the sales division are themselves balancing work and childcare. The team has firsthand understanding of the time constraints and practical challenges their customers face.

The company accommodates flexible scheduling so employees can handle children's medical appointments or sudden caregiving needs. Staff can choose daily working hours anywhere from three to eight hours, and the company also runs a performance incentive program alongside a long-service reward scheme.

"In the past I thought cutting costs was the way to keep more profit in the company, but my thinking has completely changed," Shin said. "When you reward employees who deliver results, they stay longer and bring in other talented people. That virtuous cycle ultimately becomes the company's competitive edge."

The company is also accelerating investment in technology to improve the user experience. Its core customers have limited time for online activity, occupied as they are with school drop-offs and pick-ups, childcare and household tasks. The focus has been on reducing friction in the blog management and review application process.

The company has recently integrated AI and automation technology to improve operational efficiency and user convenience. It has also expanded its review product lineup from in-store visits to delivery-based experiences, where products are sent directly to users' homes.

Rather than stretching into new business areas, Shin is prioritizing building firm brand recognition for Cheheomdanshidae. The organization is also set to grow in stages, in line with the pace of business expansion.

As the company marks its 10th year, Shin's next goal is not to become a well-known entrepreneur but to build a company that lasts. "Just as certain companies come to mind naturally when you think of semiconductors, I want Cheheomdanshidae to be the first brand people think of when they hear 'blog review platform,'" she said. "The goal is not simply to grow bigger, but to keep running a company that provides real value to customers and real opportunity to employees — for a long time to come."