Yahoo! Pulls Out of South Korean Market

Yahoo! has officially withdrawn from South Korea, as of today. The move is not a surprise, as Yahoo! announced in October that it would pull all business operations from the country by the end of the year. Yahoo!’s withdrawal marks a milestone in the turnaround plan of CEO Marissa Mayer.
 

Yahoo! Corporate Offices. Image credit: Yahoo!

Customer support and all Yahoo! services ended last night in South Korea. The company appears to be shedding hundreds of jobs in the process, though an accurate tally is unclear. The move reflects Yahoo!’s sharp market share decline in South Korea. Yahoo! was competing against homegrown services, such as Naver.com, Korea.net, and Daum.net. Google continues to operate in South Korea.

Another big move in Mayer’s turnaround plan happened earlier this month. The updated Yahoo! Mail arrived, complete with Android, iOS, and Windows Phone versions. Grabbing mobile users – particularly younger users – and driving them to Yahoo! sites is an important part of the strategy.