Ruling and opposition parties in unison: "Government must respond actively, not just fundamentally, to the crisis of losing the line"

"Government response is grossly insufficient for public concerns"
"Measures equivalent to Japan's must be taken"

As the Japanese government pressures Naver, which owns the Korea-Japan joint venture Line Yahoo, to sell its shares, fears of a 'Line takeover' are growing, and the political sphere is urging the government to take active measures, warning that 'technological sovereignty' is at risk of being completely lost.

On the 10th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, described the Japanese government's actions regarding the Line Yahoo issue as 'anti-market' on his Facebook. Ahn said, "There is an increasing possibility that this will become an obstacle to the new government's promotion of a new era of Korea-Japan cooperation and the development of future-oriented Korea-Japan relations," adding, "Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed a firm stance that 'there should be no discriminatory measures against our companies,' and the Ministry of Science and ICT has stated that 'preventing unfair treatment of our companies is the top priority,' but these principled positions seem utterly insufficient to address the deep concerns and anxieties of our people."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He then emphasized that it is time to consider measures such as ▲substantial corporate support ▲active response at the level of technological sovereignty ▲and international legal responses. He pointed out, "Our technological sovereignty must not be infringed by having the platform service company Line, which has grown to 96 million users through Naver's technology, taken away by turning it into a 'Japanese company,'" adding, "In the worst case, there is no reason not to consider the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) card against Naver."

The Democratic Party of Korea also stressed that corresponding measures should be taken against the Japanese government. Hwang Jeong-ah, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said in a briefing that day, "Line is not just a messenger. It boasts overwhelming market share not only in Japan but also in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Taiwan, operating as a global economic platform based on content, finance, and AI," adding, "Losing Line is equivalent to losing our economic territory, and according to the principle of reciprocity, corresponding measures should be taken against Japan, which has launched a corporate takeover that would befit a hostile country."

Cho Eung-cheon, a Supreme Council member of the Reform New Party, said in a Supreme Council meeting that day, "The Japanese government established the Ministry of Economic Security in 2021 and enacted the Economic Security Act to strengthen semiconductor supply chains and protect advanced technologies," adding, "They are pouring subsidies amounting to 10 trillion won to build TSMC plants 1 and 2. Regarding the 'Line issue,' the president and our government must strongly protest to the Japanese government and protect our companies' overseas investments. No government anywhere in the world is sitting idle, treating this as a private matter."

He continued, "Improving Korea-Japan relations is certainly an important task, but the government's role is not to assist Japan's media play," raising his voice, "If the improvement of Korea-Japan relations aligns with mutual interests, we applaud and welcome it, but diplomacy that abandons national interests is submission and betrayal of the people."

Earlier, the Japanese government conducted two administrative guidances in March and April regarding personal information leakage issues of Line, the operating company of Line Yahoo. The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications demanded management system improvements, including 'reconsideration of the capital relationship with Naver,' sparking controversy over whether it is effectively trying to seize management rights of Line Yahoo from Naver.

Regarding this, Takeaki Matsumoto, Japan's Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, stated on the 10th, "We demanded a significant degree of reconsideration of the relationship of capital control and the essential review of group-wide security governance acceleration," adding, "It was not from the perspective of management rights." This statement is interpreted as an attempt to prevent the issue from escalating into a diplomatic problem amid rising negative public opinion in Korea due to the Line issue.

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