SEOUL, KOREA - Cyworld, the homegrown social network service brand, will go independent away from the corporate umbrella of SK Group. SK Communications said on April 8 that it would spin off Cyworld from its Internet service unit Nate as of 7 am on the same day. The new company will be run as a 100-percent employee-owned venture.

 

 

 

Cyworld posted on its official blog a message with pictures of each and ever service manager within the company, saying, "We made a gutsy move to leave big corporate protection. Even though this is a much harder way to walk, we will do it willingly."

 

The Cyworld service was launched in 1999 with feverish popularity with young online users in the mid- and late 2000s. In 2003 when it was acquired by SK Communications, the peak subscriber number was as high as 35 million. Cyworld began declining in the late 2000s, due to the network's closed nature and the limited revenue model relying solely on the sale of dotori (acorns), which can be used to purchase virtual goods such as background music, pixelated furniture, and virtual appliances.

 

The service's reputation tumbled in 2011 when the personal information on its 35 million subscribers was stolen by hackers. After the parent company took a loss of eight consecutive quarters, Cyworld ended up being acquired by the employees in January this year. The new, independent Cyworld will be headed by Kim Dong-woon, the former head of the task force with SK Communications, with 30 or so employees betting their life with the company.