In the Line Yahoo incident… W “We should refrain from responding to the standing committee” Ya “Find out at the National Assembly level”

Ahn Cheol-soo “Naver’s position must be respected first… Substantial support must be provided”
Democratic Party: “Public criticism is growing over the government’s neglect”

On the 10th, the ruling and opposition parties called for a responsible government response to the ‘Line Yahoo incident’ triggered by the Japanese government’s administrative guidance.

However, regarding the response method at the National Assembly level, the opposition party is insisting on the need for inspection through the standing committee, while the ruling party says that National Assembly intervention should be minimized considering the corporate position.

On this day, People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo posted a post on his Facebook titled, ‘Naver Line Yahoo Incident, we must respond strongly from the perspective of technological sovereignty.’

Rep. Ahn said, “First, we must respect Naver’s position as a top priority and provide practical support to the company,” and added, “The proposal to form a pan-government task force involving the private sector, the government, and the National Assembly may not be a very desirable proposal from the company’s point of view.” “It is,” he pointed out.

At the same time, he pointed out, “The skit of calling the CEO of a company to Yeouido under the name of a relevant standing committee in an emergency situation where time is running out, admonishing him and wasting time is actually the worst of the worst ways to kill the company.”

He said, “Second, we must respond proactively to protect the national interest of technological sovereignty. “Because technological sovereignty is an important issue in terms of the country’s future food and economic security, it becomes an issue at the level of the Republic of Korea that goes beyond simply respecting Naver’s position,” he said. “Therefore, our government needs to respond strongly based on reciprocity between countries.” He suggested.

He continued, “Thirdly, we must also consider international legal response measures to prevent Line Yahoo’s sale of its shares,” adding, “It would be good if it can be resolved through inter-governmental dialogue, but if it cannot be resolved, the government should consider the Korea-Japan Investment Agreement (BIT) or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.” He argued, “There is no reason not to resolve the problem through (RCEP) and, in the worst case, Naver also consider the Investor-State Dispute Settlement System (ISDS) card.”

Also, “Fourth, we need to take a legal and institutional approach to protect our industry or take retaliation after the fact by creating the ‘Overseas Expansion Companies Protection Act’ or the ‘Majority Shareholder Protection Act,’ etc.” “It may be difficult to do, but it is possible to establish a minimum level of protection, that is, a reciprocal approach and relief mechanism,” he said.

Targeting the Japanese government, “Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is in fact pushing for the Japanese corporateization of Line Yahoo through administrative guidance that demands improvement of the management system, including ‘reexamination of the relationship between Naver and capital.’” He pointed out, “It appears to be an anti-market measure comparable to that of a hostile country.”

At the same time, he criticized, “The Line Yahoo incident is a project that started in 2011 when Korea-Japan relations were not good, and there is a growing possibility that it will become an obstacle to the new era of Korea-Japan cooperation promoted by the new government and the development of future-oriented Korea-Japan relations.”

The opposition party is launching an offensive based on the Line Yahoo incident and Indonesia’s recent request to adjust the contribution for the Korean fighter KF-21 ‘Boramae’ project.

Han Min-soo, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, met with reporters after the Supreme Committee held at the National Assembly this morning and said, “(privately at the highest level of the Democratic Party) it was decided to promote an emergency situation inspection through the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and the Political Affairs Committee.”

Regarding the Japanese authorities’ move to separate Naver from ‘Line Yahoo’, a spokesperson said, “Public criticism is growing as to why the Yoon Seok-yeol government is ignoring (this situation),” and “The Democratic Party is calling for an emergency at the level of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee. “We decided to proceed with the inspection of the situation,” he emphasized.

Regarding the issue of Indonesia being behind on its share of the joint development contribution for the Korean fighter ‘KF-21’, “There are reports that our government has decided to reduce Indonesia’s share of 1.6 trillion won to 600 billion won,” he said. “The Yoon Seok-yeol government “This is a serious situation due to incompetent diplomacy,” he pointed out.

At the same time, he said that he plans to hold the government accountable for its lack of response to the ‘stealing of Indonesian technology’ at the National Defense Committee level.