Yahoo to invest in S. Korea

Yahoo to invest in S. Korea

SEOUL (AFP): Yahoo! said Tuesday that it would invest US$60 million in its South Korean affiliate, Yahoo! Korea, to help it expand in the country's fast-growing e-business.

"We have reached a critical stage in Yahoo! Korea's development," Jerry Yang, founder of the world's leading Internet portal, said here Tuesday.

"We will invest about $60 million into Yahoo! Korea. That money can be used for operating purposes and we will be making local strategic business investments to help Yahoo! Korea and seek partnership," he told journalists.

South Korea, with an estimated 10 million Internet users or one-fifth of its population, has become "a significant market place for media, advertising, e-commerce and Internet infrastructure," he said.

Yahoo! Korea's initial paid-in capital was a mere 900 million won ($793,000). Yahoo.com owns a 60-percent stake in the nation's largest Internet portal service provider.