Foreign Minister urges fair treatment toward Japan-based Korean companies

Diplomacy

Published: 17 May. 2024, 17:45 Updated: 17 May. 2024, 23:43

Foreign Minister urges fair treatment toward Japan-based Korean companies

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun speaks during an interagency meeting in Seoul on grant aid programs on May 9. [YONHAP]

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun reiterated Korea's steadfast opposition to any discriminatory actions following Japan's directive for Korea's largest portal, Naver, to reduce its stake in the messaging app Line during talks with a Japanese Embassy official in Seoul on Friday.

Vice Minister Kang stressed that "unfair treatment of Korean companies operating in Japan must not be tolerated" during talks with Taisuke Mibae, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Friday, according to the Foreign Ministry.

This comes following the presidential office's delayed response on Tuesday as Korea escalates its stance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs enhances its transparency in its discussions with Japan.

Tokyo has been calling on Naver to trim its equity in Line Yahoo (LY), the operator behind Japan's most popular messaging app, Line, following a data breach incident in October that leaked some 510,000 items of personal information about users through its subcontractor, Naver Cloud. LY is 64.5 percent owned by A Holdings, a 50:50 joint venture between Naver and SoftBank.

Kang urged Japan to exercise special attention and caution for fair and autonomous decision-making for companies like Naver, "free from any adverse actions or external pressures," the ministry added.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul conveyed a similar stance defending Naver against any discriminatory or unfair actions while on a departing courtesy call on May 10 with Koichi Aiboshi, then Japanese ambassador to Seoul.

In addition to addressing the Line issue, Kang and Mibae also discussed substantive cooperation measures in the economic sector, including plans for this year's Korea-Japan high-level economic talks, which resumed last year after an 8-year hiatus.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]