[Initial Moment] 'News Algorithm' Standing at the Heart of Politics

Intensive Inspection Amid Manipulation Allegations
Former Government Pressure Suspicions Raised
Naver Faces Inevitable Trust Damage Amid Ongoing Confusion

The government and ruling party's offensive against the giant portals is intensifying. This time, the focus is on the 'news algorithm.' The giant portals' plan to halt the operation of the News Partnership Evaluation Committee (Je-pyeong-wi) to escape the center of bias controversies has become inevitable to revise as disputes surrounding the 'news algorithm' have erupted. Since the ruling party has raised suspicions of algorithm manipulation, the Korea Communications Commission, which has taken over the baton, is highly likely to continue rigorous inspections.

Naver, the party involved, is actively rebutting and explaining the suspicions of news algorithm manipulation. It appears they have judged the situation to be unfavorable. Naver applied the 'page rank' algorithm after the first algorithm review committee in 2019, and after the second review committee in 2021, it introduced an algorithm that separated media affiliates, which had been merged under one brand, to determine rankings.

The core of this controversy lies in Naver's 2021 change to the page rank criteria. The ruling party's spokesperson on the National Assembly's Korea Communications Commission, who first raised the issue, claimed that after the criteria change, the ranking of MBC, classified by the ruling party as left-leaning, rose, while the ranking of Chosun Ilbo, positioned at the opposite end, fell. Based on this result, the ruling party even raised suspicions of external pressure from the Moon Jae-in administration, seizing on the issue. Feeling the gravity of the situation, unlike when the Je-pyeong-wi issue surfaced, Naver quickly formed a third algorithm review committee chaired by Professor Yu Chang-dong of KAIST's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and expressed its intention to sincerely cooperate with the investigation.

Contrary to Naver's hopes, it seems difficult to bring an early end to the news algorithm controversy. The ruling party is increasing pressure, defining it as an issue from the previous administration, and it is hard to predict when the Korea Communications Commission's inspection will conclude and when the final judgment on the results will be made. Meanwhile, the opposition party has raised its voice, labeling it as 'media control' or 'intimidation,' forecasting a protracted dispute. If the Korea Communications Commission concludes that prohibited acts under Article 50 of the Telecommunications Business Act and Article 42 of the Enforcement Decree of the same law were violated, it is highly likely to escalate into a legal battle.

The longer the controversy drags on, the greater the burden Naver will have to bear. While the outcome of the manipulation suspicions cannot be predicted, since the Korea Communications Commission, which holds authority, has announced plans to impose fines and pursue criminal charges according to relevant laws, if realized, it will inevitably damage the company's credibility.

Some express concerns that since this issue stems from bias controversies, it may go around in circles. The fundamental bias judgment criteria are inevitably trapped in partisan logic, making it difficult to guarantee objectivity in the results. There is a high possibility of falling into so-called 'desirability bias,' which means collecting information focused on what one wants to believe is desirable, making it hard to gain consensus.

There are also criticisms that the quality of content sacrificed in the click war among media companies dependent on the giant portals and the portals' social responsibility are not receiving attention. Amid attempts by the giant portals to revive real-time search terms, which were discarded in the past in response to market share decline, the news platform ecosystem, which has played a role as a public forum, is likely to shrink further as proper checks and balances are not in place.

The 'Special Committee on National Integration and Media' under the Presidential Committee on National Integration plans to present policy proposals in July to create a 'media environment that can function as a positive force for national integration.' The issues of the News Partnership Evaluation Committee and news algorithm manipulation suspicions have entered the heart of politics.

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