The South Korean government has conveyed regret to the Japanese government concerning the “LINE Yahoo incident” and pledged to address any unjust measures. However, this response came belatedly. South Korea should have taken action when the Japanese government initially directed Line Yahoo to reassess its capital relationship with Naver in March following the personal information leak at LINE Yahoo.
SoftBank, which holds a 50% stake in LINE Yahoo alongside Naver, is leveraging the Japanese government’s administrative directive to pressure Naver into divesting its share. Naver, lacking direct communication channels with the Japanese government, finds itself unable to respond effectively. As the South Korean government remains passive, SoftBank and LINE Yahoo advance towards finalizing a deal to acquire Naver’s stake, potentially displacing a South Korean director from LINE Yahoo’s board. This jeopardizes Naver’s control over LINE, a platform it meticulously built into Japan’s premier messenger service.
The predictable outcome reflects a fundamental disconnect between the South Korean government and Naver’s strategies. While Japan’s government and the corporations collaborated closely, South Korea lacked such cohesion. Naver’s failure to seek government support and share information, coupled with the government’s indifference due to Naver’s silence, underscores the disparity. This is a movement in contrast to competing nations swiftly forging public-private alliances to safeguard their interests, exemplified by actions by the governments - Netflix’s net neutrality issues (the U.S.), the enforced sale of TikTok (China), and Nissan’s Renault acquirement (Japan).
In the midst of this, South Korea’s opposition parties are attempting to politicize the LINE Yahoo case and initiate anti-Japanese smear campaigns. Lee Jae-myung, the leading opposition Democratic Party representative, stated, “Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan Matsumoto Takeaki, a great-great-grandson of Ito Hirobumi, is invading South Korean cyber territory LINE.” Matsumoto issued administrative guidance to Naver. Similarly, Cho Kuk, the leader of the Korea Innovation Party declared his intention to visit Dokdo in protest against the government’s “kowtowing diplomacy” towards Japan. Emotional anti-Japanese rhetoric risks complicating resolution efforts. The government, business, and political sectors must collaborate in seeking a solution that prioritizes national interests.
