[CEONEWS = Editor-in-Chief Jae-hoon Lee] Drawing on 33 years at Samsung Electronics, CEO Jin-hae Kim is steering Planti Group toward a new phase of growth. Kim joined Samsung as a software engineer and rose from entry-level to executive in 2010, spending 12 years leading businesses and operations. As Head of Mobile Sales for Korea (EVP) in charge of sales and marketing for IT and Galaxy products, he generated over KRW 10 trillion in domestic mobile revenue and lifted the Galaxy smartphone brand’s market share in Korea to over 80%.
After stepping back from frontline roles at Samsung at the end of 2022 and serving a year as a full-time advisor, Kim joined PlantiNet in January 2024. Early this year, he also became CEO of subsidiary PlantiM, preparing the group’s next big leap.
From a “security company” to an IT service-solutions player
While many still label PlantiNet a security company, Kim defines it as an “IT service-solutions provider.” By combining network and AI technologies, the company now delivers solutions that help customers proactively counter the worsening threats of voice phishing and smishing, beyond its legacy of harmful-content filtering. It is also moving ahead with education solutions tailored to Korea’s rapidly digitizing learning environment.
Two factors drew Kim to PlantiNet. First, the company’s vision: “DREAM, MAKE, SHARE”—pursuing ambitious goals without compromise, achieving them through principled management, and sharing the results with employees, shareholders, and the community. In line with this ethos of sharing, PlantiNet has paid uninterrupted dividends for 16 years, funds scholarships through universities, and supports patients facing hardship.
Second, the strategic direction of PlantiNet and its subsidiary PlantiM. PlantiNet provides wired/wireless internet and device-level harmful-content blocking services to domestic and international carriers, maintaining stable revenue and profit. Leveraging AI plus two decades of network expertise and data assets, it continues to differentiate itself from competitors. The company is building customized services to preempt increasingly diverse online risks and plans to extend its “安心 (peace-of-mind) platform” beyond telecom into finance, senior-care, and digital education.
Preparing the “second leap” with the digital-magazine platform Moazine
PlantiM supplies BGM services, digital signage, and video content creation/operations to roughly 20,000 locations in Korea. Since 2006, it has provided domestic and overseas digital magazines to universities, public libraries, and enterprises via a web version. In 2024, it launched a new app version, delivering some 1,400 global magazine titles on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.
“With the marketing slogan ‘Let’s update life—intellectually (magazine-wise),’ we’re partnering with the Korea Magazine Association to drive a digital transformation of the magazine market,” Kim said. “Our aim is to revive Korea’s magazine ecosystem from its slump and, by tapping global enthusiasm for K-culture, actively promote Korean culture while contributing to the global use of Hangul.”
Since taking the helm at PlantiM, Kim has made “Moazine” the company’s core growth engine. Built on nearly two decades of library service operations, Moazine is Korea’s largest digital-magazine platform. Starting in 2024, it has expanded into full B2C service, enabling readers to browse 1,400+ titles anytime, anywhere across PC, mobile, and tablet.
Moazine’s differentiation strategy
Moazine’s business advantages can be summarized in four pillars:
Reviving Korea’s magazine ecosystem through close collaboration with the Korea Magazine Association. As digital channels fragmented information consumption and shrank print, PlantiM—working closely with the association—is leading not only the ecosystem’s digital transition but also the re-establishment of magazines as an advertising platform via digital ads and the introduction of new commerce features such as shopping.
A ready-to-scale overseas platform. With K-culture firmly a global trend, Moazine will differentiate via curated, professional magazine content. By launching “Global Moazine,” it aims to become a platform that delivers authoritative K-culture knowledge to overseas audiences.
Exclusive domestic distribution for ZINIO, a global digital-magazine platform offering some 1,000 major overseas titles. Through this partnership, Moazine brings key international magazines to Korea and select markets, including a strong roster of specialist publications—making it a unique gateway for Korean readers to diverse, in-depth content.
AI integration. Moazine offers interest-based personalized curation, AI translation, text-to-speech (TTS), and AI search so global users can enjoy content without language barriers. On the B2B side, it provides annual-license services to large enterprises, financial institutions, hotels/resorts, and public agencies, among others.
Content depth and expansion plans
In subscription services, the decisive factor is content breadth and quality. Moazine currently hosts over 1,400 premium titles from home and abroad. Domestically, it spans fashion, lifestyle, business, and education—including leading consumer and specialist magazines. Internationally, it offers popular titles from the U.S., U.K., Japan, France, and more, in multiple languages.
Expansion will proceed on two tracks: (1) strengthen partnerships with global publishers that own flagship specialist magazines to boost English, Japanese, and Chinese premium content; and (2) actively curate niche segments—education, hobbies, and children—to broaden reader choice. PlantiM will also syndicate top Korean content to overseas platforms to raise the global profile of K-magazines.
Strategic alliances with carriers and device makers
Although Moazine is fundamentally a subscription service, it aspires to be a full-fledged platform. Magazines, unlike one-off books, are continuously published, carry diverse advertising, and drive purchase intent. Reflecting the needs of all platform participants, Moazine is engineered as a commerce-capable media platform, not merely a reading app.
Subscribers will experience AI-curated magazine journeys and a portfolio differentiated by professional titles—along with digital ad solutions that connect discovery to purchase. To accelerate user growth, Moazine is forging deep carrier partnerships. With a KT MVNO, it launched bundled subscription plans; coupled device offerings such as “KT Moazine TabTV” are already in market. Discussions are underway to include Moazine in plans at not only KT but also U+ and SKT.
Partnership with Samsung Electronics is another key pillar. Moazine is offered via Samsung’s new Galaxy AI Subscription Club, and the app is pre-loaded on Galaxy Tab S series devices—driving rapid new-user acquisition.
A special relationship with KT
“While Moazine first launched its telco subscription through KT, we did not grant KT exclusivity,” Kim clarified. Planti Group maintains business relationships with all three major Korean carriers, and the same approach applies to Moazine. PlantiM is actively working with the other carriers to launch comparable subscription offerings as soon as possible.
That said, KT’s current focus on AI services aligns closely with Moazine’s AI features, allowing faster progress than with peers. PlantiNet, the parent, also has a long-standing collaboration with KT through its harmful-content filtering services. Recently, they launched KT MVNO Moazine plans and co-branded products like KT Moazine TabTV.
Subscriber status and outlook
As of July, Moazine had approximately 38,500 subscribers—short of the 300,000 target set at the beginning of the year. Kim attributes the gap to a six-month delay in launch timing (from February to August). Even so, he views the extended telco-integration process positively, as it improved technological maturity and consumer experience.
Momentum is building: partnerships with MVNOs and Samsung’s AI subscription are steadily adding users, and multiple large B2B contracts are in active negotiation—diversifying channels and broadening the base. “If this trajectory holds, subscriber numbers could multiply several-fold by year-end,” Kim said. “But we’re not chasing raw volume; our north star is content and experiences that keep users engaged—earning long-tenure, high-loyalty subscribers.”
Group-level synergies
PlantiM and PlantiNet operate independently in their areas of strength but collaborate selectively to generate group synergies. One model: PlantiNet purchases Moazine coupons from PlantiM and sells them to carriers bundled with tablets. Another: PlantiNet does not buy the coupons but supports sales through its channels as a sales agent. In all cases, PlantiM independently manages Moazine’s technology and operations.
2025 priorities and the mid-to-long-term vision
“2025 is our preparation year for a full transition into a service-platform group from 2026 onward,” Kim emphasized. The group is focused on building the ecosystem to evolve from a solutions vendor into a platform provider—laying the foundation for a “second leap” at the group level once preparations complete.
Concretely, PlantiNet aims to finish the groundwork this year for shifting from a solutions company to a platform company. It plans to complete an AI-powered “安心 (peace-of-mind) platform” within the year by combining its harmful-content and network technologies with AI. Unlike its traditional B2B model tied to carriers, the platform will expand into new B2B and B2C markets via app distribution. PlantiNet is also integrating an LMS (Learning Management System) into its nBlock solution for education offices to deliver a K-education-optimized learning platform.
PlantiM, as a content-platform company, is preparing its own leap. It will enable consumers to create content using AI and share it within PlantiM’s customer network to seed a new distribution environment. For Moazine, beyond AI-driven personalization, PlantiM is applying generative AI to restore magazines’ central role as an advertising platform and to more directly connect to shopping—underscoring Moazine’s evolution into a true commerce-ready media platform.
For global rollout, PlantiM is curating refined K-content and integrating Korean-language education features. It is also developing differentiated vertical platforms that focus on high-intent content for education and specialist industries.
In closing, Kim said, “On the back of stable cash flows from our legacy businesses, PlantiNet is driving a ‘second leap’ with安心 platform services across telecom, senior care, education, and finance—while PlantiM’s subscription platform Moazine is scaling from Korea to the world. We ask for your continued interest, support, and participation.”
Leveraging three decades at Samsung, CEO Jin-hae Kim is leading Planti Group’s digital transformation and platform expansion. Above all, his vision for “Moazine” to revive Korea’s magazine industry and propel K-culture globally is drawing keen attention.
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