IT Citizen Coalition Urges Strong Response to 'Line Incident'... "SoftBank Must Attend National Assembly Audit"

On the 24th, the Content Future Convergence Forum held an urgent discussion on the 'Line Incident' at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Regarding the Line Yahoo incident, the 'IT Citizens' Coalition for Fairness and Justice (Preparatory Committee)' called for a strong response from our government. They also urged that investigation and discussion on this matter be conducted during the National Assembly audit.

On the morning of the 24th, Wi Jeong-hyun, chairman of the IT Citizens' Coalition Preparatory Committee and dean of the Graduate School of Virtual Convergence at Chung-Ang University, stated at the 'Emergency Debate on the Line Incident' held at the National Assembly, "The Korean government should demand the Japanese government withdraw its administrative guidance concerning the improvement of capital relations."

He added, "There is no logical connection between security enhancement and changes in capital relations," emphasizing, "There are also criticisms from Japanese media that the administrative guidance by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications was excessive."

Earlier, in November last year, when Naver Cloud was infected with malware due to a cyberattack, leading to a personal information leak at Line Yahoo, which shared some internal systems, Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications demanded improvements in the management system of Line Yahoo, including a review of capital relations, through two rounds of administrative guidance. Naver and SoftBank each hold 50% of the shares of A Holdings, the parent company of Line Yahoo, effectively pressuring Naver to sell its shares.

Regarding the passage of the 'Act on the Protection and Use of Important Economic Security Information' by the Japanese House of Councillors, Chairman Wi evaluated, "It appears to be a process to back up the administrative guidance aimed at forcibly taking over Line, which lacks legal grounds." The bill focuses on the state designating private individuals handling important information to prevent the overseas leakage of confidential information or advanced technology. Leakage of important information can result in imprisonment for up to five years.

If this law is enforced, the personal information leak incident at Line Yahoo could also be punishable, and the Japanese government could intervene in corporate personnel matters. There have also been claims that Korean employees could be excluded from information handling tasks at Line Yahoo.

Chairman Wi called for bipartisan cooperation in the National Assembly and emphasized the need for investigation into SoftBank and others during the National Assembly audit. He stated, "A resolution strongly protesting the Japanese government's irrational and illegal administrative guidance that disregards the Korea-Japan Investment Agreement and international law must be adopted," adding, "A resolution by the National Assembly will greatly help spread global attention to the Line Yahoo incident." Article 10 of the Korea-Japan Investment Agreement prohibits both countries from taking measures equivalent to expropriation or nationalization against investors from the other country.

At the debate, voices were also raised urging restraint in politicizing the Line Yahoo issue. Lee Ji-pyeong, professor of the Department of Convergent Japanese Area Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said, "Maintaining the potential for Korea-Japan cooperation and expanding platform business into the global market is advantageous for both Korea and Japan," adding, "Since the IT platform business is led by the United States and China, Korea and Japan need to join forces from an economic security perspective and foster a global platform."

He further argued, "Political pressure should be limited to warning the Japanese government, and it is important to support the practical activities of Naver and the government in a bipartisan manner."