Poshmark names Naver investment chief as new CEO
Kim, president of investments at Naver, has overseen the Korean internet giant's global strategic and venture capital investments. He previously served as Naver's chief financial officer before becoming executive board chairman of Poshmark in April this year.
Naver acquired Poshmark in January 2023 in a $1.2 billion deal. Since then, Kim has provided the US firm with strategic guidance to improve operational efficiency and achieve business goals.
Chandra led the Silicon Valley startup from its beginnings in a garage to becoming a Nasdaq-listed company with a vibrant community of over 150 million users and more than $10 billion in gross merchandise value.
'It has been the honor of a lifetime leading Team Posh,' Chandra said, expressing confidence in Kim's ability to guide the company's next chapter.
Kim said he was 'honored and excited' to take on the role, adding, 'I'm committed to building upon Manish's legacy, continuing to innovate, and delivering exceptional value to the Poshmark community.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
10 hours ago
- Korea Herald
From BTS glory to boardroom battles: Bang Si-hyuk under siege
K-pop mogul faces rare multiagency probe as Seoul intensifies war on stock manipulation Hybe founder and Chair Bang Si-hyuk, once celebrated as the trailblazer of the K-pop industry with the unprecedented success of BTS, now finds himself under intense legal scrutiny, putting Hybe's roughly 12 trillion won ($8.65 billion) market valuation to the test. According to the allegations, Bang deliberately misled investors in 2019 by suggesting that the public listing of Hybe — then Big Hit Entertainment — would be unlikely, while the company was preparing to go public as planned in the back. He is accused of unfair trading, pocketing roughly half of the 400 billion won generated in proceeds. Bang, who had remained mostly silent throughout the process, sent an official statement to Hybe employees earlier this month, shortly before returning to Korea from the US on Aug. 11. 'Having already provided a detailed explanation regarding the circumstances behind the listing during the previous probe carried out by the financial regulators, I will continue to explain the matter once again in full,' the statement read. 'I expect that this process will help clarify the facts, and I will humbly await the authorities' decision.' Critical charges As President Lee Jae Myung pushes his 'one-strike' policy in a declared war against stock manipulation, Bang has emerged as a prime example of its enforcement, with authorities competing to take the lead in pressuring him. On July 16, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the nation's top financial regulator, referred the case to prosecutors — the strongest measure the agency can take. Meanwhile, police have intensified their crackdown, raiding the agency's headquarters as well as the Korea Exchange. The National Tax Service has also launched a sweeping probe into Hybe, deploying its special bureau that handles large-scale tax evasion cases. Industry officials note that it is highly unusual for all major state investigative bodies — including the police, financial regulators, prosecutors and the NTS — to simultaneously target a single company, highlighting the extraordinary scope of the investigation. Uneasy shareholders Though still at an early stage, the criminal charges against Bang could trigger upheaval in Hybe's shareholder structure. In recent years, major investors have steadily pared back their holdings in the K-pop powerhouse amid a series of public setbacks, including its feud with former Ador CEO and producer Min Hee-jin. Bang is the largest shareholder of the Kospi-listed company, holding a 31.57 percent stake, followed by game developer Netmarble at 9.44 percent, the National Pension Service at 7.8 percent and crypto exchange operator Dunamu at 5.53 percent. Although the NPS remains one of Hybe's largest shareholders, it had trimmed its stake by more than 1 percentage point in June 2024. A month earlier, Netmarble offloaded Hybe shares amounting to 2.6 percentage points. While the game developer explained the sale as a move to secure liquidity and offset operating losses, industry watchers pointed instead to escalated volatility in Hybe's valuation, challenged by its dispute with Min. Dunamu, operator of the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, faces headwinds in its partnership with Hybe as well. While Dunamu and Hybe made reciprocal equity investments in 2021 to collaborate on a non-fungible token business, recent developments have raised concerns about a potential rift in the alliance. Levvels, a joint venture between the two entities, shut down its signature service Momentica in July, citing losses. 'We issued NFTs using Hybe's intellectual property, but the craze has cooled, slowing the business down. Levvels is starting over from scratch,' Lee Sirgoo, CEO of Dunamu, said at the shareholders' meeting held at the end of March, signaling a new direction for the business, which could potentially leave Hybe out of the picture. Both Dunamu and NPS declined to comment on their stakes in Hybe. Hybe locked in value trap Hybe's market valuation has been on a roller coaster ride. After climbing to a 52-week high of 323,000 won during intraday trading on July 2, its shares began to tumble as concerns over risks involving Bang rose to the surface. Fears of a potential delisting sent the stock plunging about 24 percent in a month to 246,000 won on July 30. The massive sell-off, however, soon eased. After touching the dip, the stock quickly rebounded to above 250,000 won in the following days, making a partial recovery to 283,500 won as of Friday's closing. Still, the stock price remains well below its initial trading performance. On the first day of the market debut, Hybe's shares soared to as high as 351,000 won. With the current price unable to reach even the debut price of 270,000 won, concerns over potential undervaluation persist. Despite the hiccups, local stock analysts are maintaining a 'buy' call, citing the company's long-term growth potential, including the expected return of BTS, growth of its girl group Katseye and planned expansion into the Latin American market. Hybe posted consolidated revenue of 705.6 billion won between April and July, up 10.2 percent from the same period last year, while its operating profit rose 29 percent to 65.9 billion won, surpassing market forecasts. 'Although Bang faces criminal allegations, they pertain to him personally rather than his role as Hybe's CEO, which helps limit the impact on the company,' an analyst from a local brokerage firm said.
Korea Herald
10 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Woori Bank opens first Korean bank branch in Texas
Woori Bank, a banking subsidiary of Woori Financial Group, said Sunday its US arm has opened a branch in Austin, Texas, becoming the first Korean bank to establish a presence in the city. The new branch will provide core financial services such as account opening, remittances and lending to help Korean companies settle in the southern US. It will also leverage networks in accounting, tax and legal services to assist with establishing local subsidiaries and serve Korean expatriates, the bank explained. 'Launching the first branch in the city as a Korean bank, where many Korean companies have taken root, carries significant meaning,' a Woori Bank official said, pledging continued support for the Korean business community in the southern US. The lender noted that the move also comes as capital investment from South Korea into the US is expected to increase, ahead of the Aug. 25 summit between President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump. Austin, home to about 15,000 Korean residents, has become a hub for advanced industries such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence. For instance, Samsung Austin Semiconductor has operated in the city for more than three decades, while Samsung Electronics is building a new chip plant in Taylor, Texas. The Austin branch is Woori's second in Texas after Dallas, and its third in the US South, including a location in Duluth, Georgia.
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Korea Herald
Xinhua Silk Road: E. China's Weihai Economic and Technological Development Zone launches cultural and tourism experience programs targeting tourists from ROK
BEIJING, Aug. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- By seizing the opportunity of China's visa-free policy for the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Weihai Economic and Technological Development Zone in east China's Shandong Province has launched "tourism+sports" programs to attract tourists from the ROK and further stimulate the vitality of cultural and tourism consumption. As the "bridgehead" for Weihai's cooperation with the ROK, the Weihai Economic and Technological Development Zone has seen the country as its major source of overseas tourists. Targeting the personalized needs of tourists from the ROK for golf playing, the Zone has built a standardized golf course which is equipped with professional coaches, bilingual services between Chinese and Korean, coffee and casual dining options, etc. On the first day of its operation which fell on July 7 this year, the golf course received its first tour group consisting of over 140 tourists from the ROK. Apart from the integrated development of tourism, sports and culture, Wehai has also been focusing on building a distinctive inbound tourism product system since the beginning of this year. Meanwhile, it has carried out cultural and tourism promotion activities in key overseas tourist markets, and encouraged travel agencies to increase efforts in attracting tourists from overseas markets. As a result, more than 10 batches of large groups of tourists from the ROK have been attracted to visit the city since the beginning of this year. From January to May this year, the city ranked first in Shandong Province in terms of the increase in the number of inbound tourists received.
