Google Korea’s managing director Yeum Dong-hoon, who has led the Internet giant’s Korean branch for seven years, will resign late this month, according to news reports.

“Yeum has decided to step down this month, and Google is currently looking for his successor,” an official from the company was quoted as saying.

The new manager could be picked among the existing members or come from outside the company, he added.

It is said that the outgoing managing director had recently made the decision to take responsibility for sagging profits and disappointing business performance in Korea. 

However, Google denied the report, saying in a statement, “We confirm that Doug (Dong-hoon) Yeum has decided to leave Google at the end of August. Doug has our appreciation and thanks for leading our Korea team to new heights, and we are confident our Korea business will thrive and diversify.”

Annual revenue of the affiliate of the world’s dominant Web-search firm is estimated at 50 billion won ($45 million) to 100 billion won, infinitesimal compared to global profits of $50.2 billion last year.

NHN, the largest online portal in Korea, earned 2.4 trillion won in sales last year.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)