[앵커]
Line, the most used messenger service by Japanese people, is jointly owned by Korea’s Naver and Japan’s Softbank.
Recently, the Japanese government has been pressuring Naver to sell its shares for personal information protection reasons, showing signs of spreading into a diplomatic dispute between Korea and Japan.
Tokyo reporter Ji Jong-ik reports.
[리포트]
We asked Japanese people what mobile messenger they use.
[유이·아카리/도쿄 시민 : “라인만 하루 3시간은 사용하겠지? 3시간 정도…”]
The messenger called ‘Line’ is the national messenger used by 83% of Japanese smartphone users.
Administrative agencies such as government ministries and local governments in Japan are also increasing the use of Line Messenger to disseminate information about disasters and pay utility bills.
Line Yahoo’s majority shareholder, which operates the Line service, is A Holdings.
It is jointly owned by Naver and Japan’s Softbank, each holding a 50% stake.
However, the Japanese government recently asked Line Yahoo to review its capital relationship with Naver.
This is interpreted as pressure to sell Naver shares to Softbank.
The Japanese government believes that the personal information of 510,000 Line users may have been leaked due to the hacking of Naver’s virtual server in November last year.
Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications provided administrative guidance to Yahoo Line on two occasions.
He then asked the Korea Personal Information Protection Commission to check whether personal information was properly managed by Naver.
It is unusual for the Japanese government to request an additional investigation when the Korean government has completed its own investigation.
[마쓰모토/일본 총무상/지난달 : “지난번의 행정지도에 대한 대응이 불충분했다는 사태를 무겁게 받아들이고, 철저하게 대응해주기를 기대합니다.”]
The Japanese government’s direct request to change shares in private companies is being interpreted as an attempt to reduce the influence of Korean companies that handle personal information.
This is Ji Jong-ik from KBS News in Tokyo.
Cinematography: Byeong-wook Ahn / Video editing: Chan-eui Han / Graphics: Park Mi-ju / Data research: Jong-won Moon
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