Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon: "No Plans for Short-Term Sale" (Update)

Attendance at the National Assembly Science and ICT Committee Full Meeting
"Difficult to Confirm Long-Term Decisions"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver, stated regarding the so-called 'Line Yahoo incident' that "a short-term sale will not be pursued."

On the 2nd, Choi appeared as a witness at the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee and responded to questions from Assemblyman Lee Hae-min of the Innovation Party for Korea, saying, "We will conclude this administrative guidance in order to properly separate the governance of security and the consignment relationship."

When Assemblyman Lee asked, "What about the long term?" Choi replied, "It would be difficult to give a definite answer regarding any company’s mid- to long-term strategic decisions."

A Holdings, the largest shareholder of Line Yahoo, is jointly owned by Naver and Japan’s SoftBank with a 50-50 shareholding structure. The two companies are currently negotiating share adjustments.

The issue originated last year when a personal information leak incident at Line Yahoo prompted Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to demand countermeasures including a review of capital relations through administrative guidance.

Choi explained, "The cause was a security breach incident that occurred on the computer network operated on consignment by Naver Cloud," adding, "The main point of the administrative guidance is not about capital relations but about how to prevent recurrence."

Regarding Japan’s administrative guidance, Choi stated, "Because they hold a dual status as both the trustee and a shareholder, I interpreted it as an expression of concern that we might be controlling governance, which could prevent the trustee from properly monitoring."