Naver News Political Comments Drop by Over 60% Compared to Previous Presidential Election

3,315,747 Comments Posted During Campaign Period
Naver Enhances News Comment Reporting Feature

During the 21st presidential election campaign period, the number of comments posted in the politics section on Naver News decreased by more than 60% compared to the 20th presidential election.

Yonhap News

According to Naver Data Lab's news comment statistics released on June 4, a total of 3,315,747 comments were posted on political news articles during the official campaign period for the 21st presidential election, which lasted from May 12 to June 2, 2025.

This figure represents a decrease of 5,382,487 comments (61.9%) compared to the 8,698,234 political comments posted during the 20th presidential election campaign period (February 15 to March 8, 2022). The number of comments deleted directly by users and those removed for violating comment guidelines also declined significantly.

During the 21st presidential election campaign period, 270,840 political comments were deleted directly by users, a decrease of 549,421 compared to the previous election. The number of comments removed for violating guidelines dropped from 23,732 during the 20th presidential election to 2,439.

This trend is attributed to several factors: the increase in digital service users during the 20th presidential election before the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Naver's ongoing efforts to strengthen its comment management policies.

In 2023, Naver began displaying a "restricted use" label on the profiles of users with limited comment privileges, and required users to complete a quiz to lift these restrictions. Last year, ahead of the 22nd National Assembly election, Naver also enhanced its comment reporting feature to prevent the spread of false information related to the election.

Currently, Naver News users are limited to posting 20 comments and 40 replies (nested comments) per article within a 24-hour period. A Naver representative explained, "Compared to the previous presidential election, we have continuously strengthened the Cleanbot model, introduced measures such as displaying usage restrictions in comment sections, and required users to complete quizzes to lift restrictions. We believe these various policies to curb malicious comments may have contributed to the decrease."