Lee Jaewoong was only 27 when he founded Daum Communications Corporation in 1995. Users are encouraged to create content on the site directly by sharing their opinions and information with other users. For example, users can write movie reviews and recommend them to other users. Daum.net also has a popular search engine called 'Fireball', which was selected by its users. Daum s business model has not changed much since the company was founded.
Revenue still comes largely from online advertising, e-commerce and Web hosting services.
As future value is important, the business model and the management structure which can influence people rationally are needed. Strong revenue growth from its increasing market share in the online advertising market and rapidly expanding e-commerce, coupled with low content and user acquisition costs, makes Lee confident that the company will achieve profitability at the end of the year. Explaining the low operational costs, Lee said that there is no need for separate marketing activities as Daum s advertising and e-commerce businesses target the same audience. Naturally, it helps that Korea has always been in the forefront of the Internet revolution. Sixty-three percent of Korean households have PCs at home, out of which almost half have Internet access.