Naver shifts focus to AI growth with a new seller support program.

Seoul, South Korea—Naver Corp announced on Monday a new growth support program for its online sellers, shifting its focus from startup assistance to AI-driven sustainable growth initiatives.

The South Korean e-commerce giant will introduce the "Growth Mileage" program on July 1, 2025. 

The program targets sellers in the Naver Smart Store platform's "Sprout" and "Power" tiers.

Through its " Start Zero Commission " program, the company has provided KRW100 billion (US$69.5 million) in commission support over the past six years, supporting an average of 50,000 new entrepreneurs annually from 2019 to 2023.

Under the new program, sellers who advance to the Sprout tier will receive KRW300,000 (US$208) in growth mileage, while those reaching the Power tier will receive KRW1 million (US$695). 

By progressing through both tiers, sellers can accumulate up to KRW1.3 million (US$903).

The mileage can be converted into business currency for search advertising, customer marketing events, or accessing AI marketing tools, data analytics, and CRM solutions.

Naver's data shows high business continuity rates among targeted sellers. 88% of Sprout-tier and 92% of Power-tier vendors continued operations the following year.

The existing Start Zero Commission and Growth Support Point programs will be discontinued after the new initiative launches in June 2025.