Democratic Party Holds Meeting with Naver Labor Union... Woo Won-sik "Japan Attempts to Seize Line"

Democratic Party Euljiro Committee Holds Meeting with Naver Union
Naver Branch Chief "Concerns Over Job Insecurity and Technological Encroachment"

The Democratic Party of Korea's Euljiro Committee held a meeting regarding the 'Naver's Line Yahoo share sale incident' and listened to the voices of Naver labor union members. The Naver union expressed concerns that domestic workers could lose their jobs if the share sale proceeds.

Woo Won-shik, the Democratic Party's candidate for National Assembly Speaker, stated at the meeting held at the National Assembly at 9 a.m. on the 21st, "The Japanese government's attempt to seize Line is unacceptable," adding, "It is truly devastating." He said, "It is very regrettable that the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is not taking the lead in making comprehensive efforts to resolve this issue," and added, "The government must listen to the voices of the workers here and step up to protect South Korea's technological capabilities."

On the 21st, Park Ju-min, chairman of the Euljiro Committee (Committee for Protecting Eul and Practicing Livelihood) of the Democratic Party of Korea, along with lawmaker Woo Won-shik and other committee members, held a meeting at the National Assembly with O Se-yoon, chairman of the Naver Labor Union, and other union members regarding the Line incident. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Park Ju-min, chairman of the Democratic Party's Euljiro Committee, attended the meeting and said, "We need to hear the voices of those working at Naver, who could be greatly affected by the sale," adding, "If you speak frankly, we will take those opinions into consideration and make efforts accordingly." Last November, when the Line personal information leak issue surfaced, the Japanese government issued administrative guidance to Line Yahoo, the operator, including a review of the capital relationship with Naver. Currently, Naver and Japan's SoftBank each hold a 50-50 stake in Line Yahoo.

Oh Se-yoon, vice chairman of the National Chemical, Textile, and Food Industry Labor Union and head of the Naver branch, mentioned the 'adverse effects of the share sale' at the meeting. He argued, "The share sale, initiated under unfair national pressure, does not meet normal standards, and the conflict between Naver and Line Yahoo could lead to the leakage of global technology." He added, "Domestic personnel may face job insecurity," and "If such a bad precedent results from the share sale, it could become an obstacle when domestic IT companies expand overseas."

Oh analyzed that Naver began considering the share sale due to administrative guidance from Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. He said, "Originally, it might have just felt difficult to do business here (in Japan), but I think the administrative guidance probably played a role in igniting the issue."

The participants held a private meeting for about 30 minutes. Immediately after the private meeting, Chairman Park Ju-min said, "There was a request to meet with Naver's management during the private meeting," adding, "We plan to meet with the management soon."

On the 21st, Park Ju-min, Chairman of the Euljiro Committee (Committee for Protecting Eul and Practicing Livelihood) of the Democratic Party of Korea, along with lawmaker Woo Won-sik and other committee members, took a commemorative photo during a meeting with O Se-yoon, Chairman of the Naver Labor Union, and union members regarding the Line incident at the National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@