Government: "Respecting Naver's Position on the Line Incident to the Greatest Extent"

Kang Dohyun Vice Minister, Emergency Briefing on Line Incident on the 10th
"Response Would Have Been Different If Discrimination or Pressure Was Experienced"
"Sought Ways to Maximize Naver's Profits"

Kang Do-hyun, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated on the 10th regarding the so-called 'Line incident' that "the government will support Naver so that autonomous decisions can be made."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Kang held an emergency briefing at the Government Seoul Office and said, "We thoroughly respect Naver's position, and the government's role is to create an environment where Naver's autonomous judgment and decision-making can take place."

He emphasized, "The most important thing in this matter is Naver's judgment, and secondly, whether Naver's judgment is autonomous or not."

When asked why the government had not made any significant statements so far, he replied, "I believe the highest priority is to confirm the company's intentions and position and support them accordingly."

He added, "If it had been judged that the company was subjected to completely unfair discrimination or pressure, the government's response so far would have been different," and "The government sought ways to maximize Naver's interests regarding Naver's position."

Kang said, "Going forward, the Ministry of Science and ICT will thoroughly share Naver's position and details with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and if necessary, if there are matters requiring government-level responses, we will respond jointly together."