The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 marked a turning point for media outlets around the world. The rise of subscription-based platforms like Netflix changed media consumption habits, while stricter privacy regulations restricted third-party data usage. Consequently, leveraging first-party data became crucial.

Media organizations moved beyond traditional B2B mass content distribution via portals, shifting instead toward direct reader engagement through advanced B2C strategies.

Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s leading news wire, faced similar digital transformation challenges. Producing over 1,000 daily news stories through partnerships with 96 international news agencies, and maintaining 35 correspondents in 19 countries, Yonhap needed a robust system to integrate and manage vast amounts of content effectively. After comprehensive internal coordination to meet strict security standards, Yonhap successfully developed and implemented its proprietary system..

Inspired by numerous global media leaders, Yonhap introduced a new Customer Data Platform (CDP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. These innovations deliver personalized news to younger readers experiencing news fatigue, creating an intuitive, user-friendly platform to enhance reader engagement significantly.

Yonhap News Agency revamped its digital platform around three key priorities: ‘Mobile-first’, ‘Reader loyalty service’, and ‘Evolution into a data-driven media company.’ These efforts aimed to increase user visits, session durations, and overall engagement.

A notable achievement was the shift to a responsive website. Previously operating separate domains for desktop and mobile, Yonhap now automatically optimizes content layouts for different devices, offering a consistent user experience and aligning with Google’s recommended standards to boost search visibility.

The updated mobile app introduced several smartphone-centric features, including a magazine-style image viewer, prominent video news placement, and a personalized mini-information window called "Y-Viewer." These enhancements improved usability and encouraged prolonged engagement.

Yonhap also launched a reader loyalty service, strengthening personalized user experiences. Logged-in users gained seamless access to Yonhap News Agency and its knowledge archive “Hello Archive” service through a unified member ID, facilitating integrated news marketing efforts such as newsletters and news game suggestions. Additionally, more than 30 tailored recommendation algorithms were implemented, allowing readers to manage subscriptions and track previously viewed content effectively.

More than 50 ongoing article series are now delivered to users daily via mobile notifications, along with journalist-specific subscriptions and personalized newsletters delivered each evening at 6 PM. These initiatives deepened reader engagement and expanded revenue opportunities.

At the same time, Yonhap News Agency is accelerating its transformation into a data-driven media company by building an integrated analysis system that consolidates data from across its entire platform. Moving beyond legacy analytics tools, the agency developed a unified internal dashboard, merging fragmented data by content type, reporter, and platform into a single management interface, providing a comprehensive view of user engagement.

Yonhap continues to embed its identity as 'the standard in news' into all aspects of the user experience, further advancing its transformation.