April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] eBay Korea will be hiring up to 100 software developers to step up its technological prowess in areas such as artificial intelligence, according to the head of the firm in a recent interview with Chosun Ilbo.

The hiring has already been approved by its US headquarters -- marking the first time that it have given the green light to such a large-scale employment scheme that had not been preplanned years ago. 

“It seems the headquarters was impressed by our technology services such as the electronic payment system SmilePay and the unmanned delivery service Smile Box,” said Byeon Kwang-yun, eBay’s South Korean country manager.

Byeon said SmilePay is currently the largest e-payment system in the country, with its transaction scale surpassing 1 trillion won. The number of users of the service is increasing threefold every year, he said.

eBay Korea runs G market, Auction and G9 -- all major online shopping malls in Korea.

In a recent global employees’ meeting, Devin Wenig, the eBay CEO, urged employees to study the case of the Korean business, saying that “ebay Korea is at least five years ahead of the headquarters.”

In fact, the Korean branch ranked third globally in terms of sales after eBay offices in the US and the UK in 2016. Byeon attributed a large part of the growth to G9, a customized e-commerce site where shopping merchandisers suggest products to customers based on their preferences and trends. Byeon launched the business three years ago.

“Sensibility is a driving factor for many people while they shop, and it differs by people what kind of products they put value on,” Byeon said regarding G9.

Noting that it has been 20 years Korea’s e-commerce boom, and the market is now nearing saturation, Byeon stressed it was time to eye the foreign markets and customers.

For eBay Korea, 25 percent of new customers are from overseas such as China, Hong Kong and the US. Due to the growing diversity, the firm invested 20 billion won (US$17.57 million) four years ago on interpreting and translating services.

“Foreign customers accounted for 400 billion won of sales while the number of national subscribers has been stagnant,” Byeon said.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)