[비즈한국] Yanolja Group, which operates travel and accommodation platforms, has announced the corporate integration of Yanolja Platform and InterparkTriple. While the Yanolja Group plans to create synergy through this organizational merger to strengthen its global competitiveness in an oversaturated domestic and international travel and accommodation market, the sudden news of the integration has sparked discontent internally.
On the 19th, Yanolja Group announced the vision and mid-to-long-term strategy for its B2C platform business. It stated that it would integrate Yanolja Platform and InterparkTriple into a single organization within the year, with the new integrated entity building an “NOL (Nol) Universe” ecosystem. The goal is to evolve into a mega-platform by combining Yanolja, which focuses on lodging and leisure, with InterparkTriple, which specializes in flights and performances, to create synergy in the global market. They have also established a strategy to achieve hyper-personalization by connecting data through artificial intelligence (AI).
On the same day, Lee Su-jin, General Representative of Yanolja, sent an email to all employees announcing the plan, stating, “By integrating Yanolja Platform and InterparkTriple into one organization, we aim to fully unleash the superior capabilities and potential of our B2C business,” and adding, “I believe in you, the core value of Yanolja Group, and I want to start this new NOL Universe together with you.”
Yanolja currently operates through its △Platform division, △Cloud division, and △InterparkTriple division. Since 2021, Yanolja has been active in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and organizational restructuring. In June of that year, it launched “Yanolja Cloud,” a new entity consolidating its affiliates, primarily centered around its cloud solution business. In October, it acquired a 70% stake in Interpark for approximately 294 billion KRW, incorporating it as a subsidiary.
Following the acquisition of Interpark, Yanolja began streamlining, retaining the flight and performance divisions while spinning off the car rental division to Caplex, and selling the shopping and book divisions—which were spun off into Interpark Commerce—to Qoo10. In June 2022, it merged Interpark with the personalized travel platform Triple to establish the current InterparkTriple corporation.
However, backlash is emerging internally ahead of the Yanolja Platform and InterparkTriple organizational integration. Although the company held briefing sessions regarding the integration, it only explained the background, such as “the need for innovation due to intense industry competition,” without providing concrete plans. Yanolja plans to collect employee questions until the 30th and hold a second briefing session.
Employees are reportedly anxious about the structure of the integration and personnel deployment. The uncertainty lies in which departments within Yanolja Platform will be separated and whether the personnel in overlapping departments and job functions will be retained. In September 2023, Yanolja faced controversy when it restructured its cloud business and reassigned some employees to affiliates. Some are also worried that their treatment or benefits may change once Yanolja Platform is absorbed into its subsidiary, InterparkTriple.
A Yanolja Platform official responded, “Nothing has been decided regarding the organizational integration structure or the launch of the integrated platform. We will discuss and decide in a direction that is helpful to our members,” and added, “We plan to communicate with employees and reflect their opinions before deploying personnel to the integrated organization. There will be no restructuring.”
Some also suggest that the sudden integration might be intended for a relocation to a new headquarters in Pangyo. When Yanolja Group acquired Interpark, it also secured the new headquarters in the Pangyo 2nd Techno Valley that Interpark had invested in. However, in July, the Gyeonggi Housing & Urban Development Corporation determined that Yanolja, unlike InterparkTriple, was ineligible to move in according to the business plan submitted prior to the acquisition, causing the move for Yanolja’s tech personnel to fall through. Consequently, speculation has arisen that they intend to separate Yanolja Platform personnel and merge them with InterparkTriple to create a separate entity eligible for entry into Pangyo.
Currently, Yanolja’s headquarters is located near Samsung Station in Daechi-dong, Seoul. Pangyo 2nd Techno Valley is in Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, so critics point out that if a large number of Yanolja Platform personnel move to the new headquarters, countermeasures for those living far away will be necessary. In April last year, Yanolja also faced backlash from employees when it announced the abolition of its representative perk, full-time remote work, and replaced it with a hybrid office attendance policy.
Eom Ju-il, head of the “Y-Union” (the Korean Chemical, Textile & Food Workers' Union, Yanolja Interpark Branch), which represents all Yanolja affiliates and InterparkTriple, stated, “There is significant confusion among employees who were harmed by the abolition of remote work and those who found housing with the expectation of working in Daechi-dong,” adding, “If personnel are moved to a new headquarters, practical countermeasures beyond just shuttle buses are needed.”
Yanolja dismissed the opinion that the integration was for the purpose of moving to the new headquarters, drawing a line by saying, “That is absolutely not the case.” A company official replied, “Competition in the platform market is becoming more intense due to the scale of operations, and we are also competing with global OTAs (online travel agencies),” adding, “We are reorganizing the organization with the goal of expanding into the global market not only in B2B (cloud field) but also in B2C (reservation platforms).”
Eom stressed, “The company has lost the trust of its members as it repeatedly changes or implements welfare and work policies without proper communication since last year. This is why employees are anxious about this organizational integration,” adding, “If the company makes unfair decisions, we will respond strongly.”