Korea regrets 'perceived' pressure on Naver to sell Line shares

Vice Science Minister Kang Do-hyun speaks at a press briefing at the governmental complex in central Seoul Friday. [YONHAP]

The Ministry of Science and ICT “regrets” that the Japanese government’s administrative guidance is perceivably pressuring Naver to slash its equity in Line Yahoo (LY), the Tokyo-based operator behind Line.

“While the Japanese government claims that there was no expression of divesting Naver’s stake in LY in the administrative guidance, we regret that it is perceivable pressure for the Korean company to diminish its ownership in LY,” said Vice Science Minister Kang Do-hyun at a press briefing at the governmental complex in central Seoul. “The government’s role is to ensure that our companies, including Naver, do not receive unfair treatment or dispositions regarding overseas businesses and investments."

Kang said the government will respond “firmly and forcefully” to any discriminatory measures against Korean companies operating overseas businesses.

The government will also support Naver if the company decides to retain its stake and business in LY.

LY is 64.5 percent owned by A Holdings, a 50:50 joint venture between Naver and SoftBank.

Naver said on Friday that it is holding discussions with Softbank “to explore all possibilities,” including divesting its stake in LY.

“Please understand that we cannot disclose detailed information until a conclusion is reached,” Naver said. “We will try to provide further explanations based on confirmed knowledge in the future.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]