"Data Disclosure Should Be Market-Driven to Minimize Side Effects"

by Lee Seungjin

Published 23 Apr.2022 09:42(KST)

On the 22nd, at the Ferrum Tower in Seoul, Director Song Daeseop of Naver is giving a presentation at a seminar titled "Exploring Methods for External Disclosure and Utilization of Online Platform Data."

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] As legislative bills to promote data sharing are emerging, the IT industry and academia have argued that "data disclosure should be market-driven to minimize side effects."

On the 22nd, at a seminar held at Seoul Ferrum Tower by the Korean Advertising Association and the Korean Psychological Association on the theme of ‘Exploring Methods for Online Platform Data Disclosure and Utilization,’ such points were continuously raised.

Professor DaehO Lee of Sungkyunkwan University, who spoke at the event, pointed out issues regarding legislative bills related to data disclosure. Professor Lee said, "Legislative bills to promote data disclosure have emerged from the perspectives of 'data monopoly' or 'industrial promotion,' but there are problems in both aspects."

He continued, "Data’s utilization capability and context are important, and disclosing existing business operators’ data cannot be directly linked to industrial promotion," adding, "Moreover, if data disclosure is mandated, it could hinder voluntary investment or innovation incentives of businesses, thereby weakening industrial competitiveness, which must also be considered."

Next, Daeseop Song, Director of Agenda Research at Naver, explained Naver’s concerns and plans regarding data utilization.

Director Song said, "To minimize side effects in data disclosure and create an environment that enhances usability, it is necessary to support data analysis that is safely de-identified yet highly usable, and to periodically update data so that timely analysis is possible."

He emphasized, "For terabyte-scale data that is difficult to analyze in general environments, a technical environment with good security and accessibility must be established."

Naver recently introduced the 'Naver Cloud Data Box' to overcome limitations in data provision methods. Using this, various insights such as product planning, trend analysis, and AI training based on data can be discovered and applied to business.

Finally, Director Song said, “Naver hopes that by sharing Data Box usage experiences with various academic experts and accumulating precedents, the entire data ecosystem in Korea will be revitalized. Naver plans to enhance services to create new value based on data and collaborate with partner companies specializing in big data analysis to develop ways to enrich the related ecosystem.”