[The Editors' Verdict] Ruling Party's 'Moderate' Portal Regulation Could Trigger a 'Balloon Effect'

The ruling party's offensive against Naver is becoming serious. Following Secretary-General Lee Cheol-gyu, Floor Deputy Leader Yoon Doo-hyun has recently taken the lead in targeting Naver, indicating growing internal resentment toward the giant portal. A People Power Party official conveyed, "The party leadership's gaze toward Naver is colder than anyone could imagine."

Naver has come under the ruling party's crossfire largely due to its passive response to consumer harm and public opinion distortion. In particular, the recent discovery of a flood of fake reviews on shopping malls hosted on the portal, which were caught by the Fair Trade Commission, reportedly directly provoked the ruling party. When it was revealed that about 2,000 health functional food reviews were all 'fake,' written by part-time workers, the Fair Trade Commission imposed fines on the advertising agency, but took no action against Naver, which provided the space for posting the reviews. This news reportedly infuriated the party leadership.

Above all, the ruling party's biggest grievance is that Naver is failing to properly fulfill its role in news that shapes public opinion. Especially with next year's general election approaching, articles posted on the portal inevitably influence public sentiment. The mention of the 'Druking' incident involving platform comment manipulation, along with the statement that it "also affected elections," is interpreted as revealing the party's true intentions ahead of the general election.

The ruling party's measure to rein in Naver is legislation. They are seriously considering revising the status of telecommunication sales intermediaries under the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce (Electronic Commerce Act). Some within the party have also expressed a plan to clarify responsibilities by defining 'intermediaries' as 'distributors' in the Platform Business Act currently being prepared by the Fair Trade Commission. However, there is significant opposition arguing that this could block online sales channels for small and medium-sized enterprises, leaving the specific legislative direction uncertain.

Given Naver's practices, amending only the Electronic Commerce Act is unlikely to achieve the fundamental effects the ruling party desires. Since the portal gathers virtually all information, monopoly-related harms may manifest elsewhere, similar to a balloon effect. According to a report on improving digital news distribution structures published last year by the Korea Press Foundation, portal site users overwhelmingly choose Naver (86.7%). This means Naver exerts considerable influence not only in shopping malls but also in shaping public opinion. Naver has been passive about outlinking news to media sites and recently faced criticism for releasing news content partnership terms that block connections to the media companies' own websites. These actions are possible because of its monopolistic position.

The ruling party is hesitant to impose broad regulations, citing that Naver is a private company and that monopolies resulting from competition are beyond political intervention. Martin Wolf, a renowned Financial Times columnist, warned against big tech monopolies in his recent book, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism. He noted that vested interests could steer systems toward complacency rather than innovation. Since the ruling party has already drawn its sword, it is inevitable that they consider more efficient regulatory measures.