Naver Takes Action on 'Jwapo Jikgi'... Comment System Improvements Starting in May

Naver Executive Vice President:
"When Targeting Coordinates Are Detected,
We Will Notify the Media"

Naver is responding to the behavior of certain groups systematically posting comments to sway public opinion by 'targeting coordinates' on articles. Using artificial intelligence (AI), if abusive patterns such as posting comments are detected, this information will be shared with media outlets.

On the 5th, Lee Jung-kyu, Executive Vice President of Naver's Service Operation Integration Support, appeared at the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee's current issues inquiry and stated, "If targeting coordinates or malicious comment abuse related to social disasters is detected, we will deliver this to the media so they can judge according to their own operational methods by improving the function." He added, "This feature is scheduled to be launched in May."

Earlier, in January, Naver announced through a notice that it was "considering responses to articles where sharp social conflicts or opinion clashes are detected." One of the considered measures is to notify media outlets when the number of likes or dislikes on article comments rapidly exceeds a certain threshold, encouraging them to switch comment sorting to latest, reply order, or oldest. Currently, the default comment sorting is by the number of likes, so comments with the most likes stand out. This aims to block public opinion manipulation by systematically clicking likes or dislikes to display comments from a specific viewpoint at the top.

Regarding the proposal by Assemblywoman Hwang Jung-ah of the Democratic Party to notify readers of the possibility of targeting coordinates when traffic fluctuations are sudden, Executive Vice President Lee said, "Literacy is very important," but added, "Currently, under the 'media comment policy selection system,' notifying users about the possibility of targeting coordinates requires consultation." The media comment policy selection system allows media outlets to decide whether to provide comments on their articles, sorting options, and whether to suspend comments. Media outlets can proactively close comment sections on some articles or suspend comments by section or article upon user request.