Service Planner, Product Manager, Product Owner:Different Yet Similar Roles
If you’re working in Korea’s IT industry, you’ve probably come across three commonly used job titles:
✅ Service Planner (서비스 기획자)✅ Product Manager (PM)
✅ Product Owner (PO)
At first glance, these roles seem similar. They all involve product development, user needs, and decision-making. But in reality, each has unique responsibilities—and in Korea, these roles often function differently than they do in other countries.
Today, I want to break down:
- What makes the Service Planner role unique to Korea
- How PM and PO roles differ globally vs. in Korea
- What these three roles have in common
The Uniqueness of ‘Service Planner’ in Korea
💡 Is there an exact translation for ‘Service Planner’ in English?
Not really. The Service Planner role evolved specifically within the Korean IT industry, and there isn’t a direct equivalent in Western markets like the US.
Historically, the title emerged as Korean portal services (like Naver, Daum, and Kakao) grew. Service Planners became responsible for planning and designing the visible aspects of web services—essentially shaping what users interact with.
📌 What Does a Service Planner Do?
- ✅ Laying out the basic UI of the service and features
- ✅ Designing & executing tests for user experience
- ✅ Overseeing service operations after launch
They conduct market research, analyze user behavior, and work closely with developers and designers to bring services to life. In some ways, the role is somewhere in between a Product Manager and a Product Designer in the US.
Product Manager vs. Product Owner: Global vs. Korean Perspective
The titles Product Manager (PM) and Product Owner (PO) are widely used in global IT companies—but their meanings can shift depending on the region.
🔹 Global Perspective (How PM & PO Roles Are Defined Internationally)
In the US & other global markets, here’s how the two roles differ:
| Role | Primary Focus | Strategic vs. Tactical | Scope of Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product Manager (PM) | Defines the long-term product vision & strategy | 📌 Strategic | Owns the entire product |
| Product Owner (PO) | Manages the day-to-day backlog & execution | 📌 Tactical | Owns specific product features/modules |
💡 Key Takeaway:
- PMs focus on long-term growth, product roadmaps, and business objectives.
- POs translate strategy into actionable development tasks, creating user stories & prioritizing backlogs.
- PO is a role within the Scrum framework, while PM is a job position that exists across various methodologies.
🔹 The Korean Perspective (How PM & PO Are Used in Korea)
In Korea, these roles are often flipped compared to the global standard.
| Role | Key Focus | Common Korean Perception |
|---|---|---|
| Product Manager (PM) | Execution & feature-level work | More tactical (closer to a PO in global markets) |
| Product Owner (PO) | High-level decision-making, strategy | More strategic (closer to a PM in global markets) |
📌 Why did this happen?
One of the first Korean companies to adopt Agile (mainly Coupang and Toss) switched the two definitions when implementing Scrum. Their interpretation became widely accepted through case studies and books, making PO and PM titles function differently in Korea compared to the US.
Commonalities Among the Three Roles
Despite their differences, Service Planners, PMs, and POs all share these fundamental responsibilities:
✅ Understanding user needs through research & analysis✅ Developing product/service strategies based on business goals
✅ Creating planning documents & roadmaps to guide teams
✅ Collaborating with development & design teams for execution
✅ Testing & improving products based on feedback
Conclusion: Titles Matter Less Than Responsibilities
In Korea, Service Planner, Product Manager, and Product Owner titles are sometimes used interchangeably, and their meanings vary by company.
💡 What’s more important than job titles?
👉 Understanding what role you’re actually playing in product development.
In my next post, I’ll dive into how these roles are evolving in Korea and how companies are adapting them to align with global trends.
Which of these roles do you relate to most? Let’s discuss! 🚀
💡 In Korea, "Product Owner (PO)" is often used to describe what is typically a "Product Manager (PM)" in the US. Meanwhile, the "Product Manager (PM)" role in Korea is closer to a "Product Owner (PO)" in the US. This terminology swap became widely used due to early Agile adoption. I’ll continue using "PO" since it matches my job title, but know that it refers to a PM-equivalent role in the US.
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