Naver, which runs the nation’s biggest Internet portal, announced on Thursday it will set up the “Naver Partner Center” next month to better cooperate with smaller businesses.

The move came a month after the company announced it would take a flurry of measures to seek coprosperity with small enterprises amid intensifying public criticism over its monopolistic practices. Naver controls a wide range of online businesses ranging from news to online communities to Internet advertising.

The partner center is expected to develop coprosperous programs and offer support to venture firms. Naver said the center will also help introduce measures to gauge the impact of Naver services on small players and collect opinions from partners to nurture better business conditions.

Naver has been under attack for allegedly manipulating search results to increase profits and stifling start-ups by copying their innovative business ideas by means of its dominant market position.

By Yoon Ha-youn, Intern reporter
(yhayoun@heraldcorp.com)