Naver Partially Wins Lawsuit Against MBC Over 'News Conservative Bias' Report

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] Naver has won a partial victory in a lawsuit filed against MBC, which reported that Naver's news algorithm is biased toward conservative media, demanding a correction and other remedies.

The Civil Division 12 of the Seoul Western District Court (Presiding Judge Seong Jiho) ruled on the 21st in the defamation and damages claim lawsuit filed by Naver against MBC that "within 14 days after the final judgment date, a rebuttal statement must be broadcast and read at the beginning of the 'Straight' program." The court also ordered the full text of the rebuttal statement to be posted and sent to portal partner sites including Naver.

However, the claim for damages amounting to 50 million won filed by Naver was dismissed.

In December 2020, MBC's 'Straight' reported that in Naver PC news homepage headline section, conservative media accounted for 52.2%, the three major news agencies 21.1%, and other media outlets 25.6%, alleging that Naver was biased toward conservative media. Later, in March of last year, it also reported that Naver's news algorithm was skewed toward conservative media.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.