Global asset manager BlackRock has increased its stake in NAVER, a leading South Korean IT company, to the 7% level.

According to a large-scale holdings report filed with the Korea Financial Investment Association on the 10th, BlackRock Fund Advisors, a subsidiary of BlackRock, disclosed that it held 11,122,660 shares of NAVER as of the 31st of last month. Its ownership ratio stands at 7.09%.

This represents an increase of 1,529,926 shares (1.04 percentage points) compared to the previous report (9,592,734 shares, 6.05%). This report was a "change" filing triggered by the purchase of NAVER shares on the open market for pure investment purposes, with the holding objective explicitly stated as "simple investment."

The reporting obligor is BlackRock Fund Advisors, a U.S.-registered collective investment enterprise. This report includes the combined holdings of the filer and 15 special related parties.

In detail, BlackRock Fund Advisors directly holds 6,039,574 shares (3.85%). The remaining stake is held by special related parties. Specifically, BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. was listed as holding 1,798,140 shares (1.15%), and BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited holds 1,825,073 shares (1.16%).

According to the disclosure, the aforementioned number of shares and ownership percentages are actually owned by the individual funds managed by the filer and the special related parties in their capacity as investment advisors, and the filer holds them as a "holder equivalent to an owner." Additionally, it was stated that as of the reporting date, none of the funds or clients managed by these parties individually owned 5% or more of NAVER's shares.