SoftBank, Naver discuss Line Yahoo capital relationship

[Photo by Yonhap]

Japan’s SoftBank announced on Thursday that it is currently in discussions with South Korea’s Naver regarding capital relationship of their joint venture, Line Yahoo, but no agreement has been reached yet. Line Yahoo, also known as LY Corporation, operates the Yahoo portal and the messaging app Line and is owned by A Holdings, a joint venture in which SoftBank and Naver each hold a 50 percent stake.

During SoftBank’s annual general meeting, shareholders inquired about the ongoing reexamination and what LY’s capital structure will look like moving forward. SoftBank CEO Junichi Miyakawa responded by saying, “We are in continuous discussions with Naver, and are addressing security governance and business strategy perspectives at LY’s request. While we have not reached an agreement at this point, we aim to do what is best for LY. It is difficult to provide a clear timeline for reaching an agreement as the discussions involve another party, but we will disclose any results as soon as they are finalized.”

This follows LY CEO Takeshi Idezawa’s remarks during the company’s general meeting on June 18th, 2024, where he said, “We have requested a review by the parent company based on administrative guidance. Nothing has been decided at this time.”

LY has been under scrutiny since 2023 when over 510,000 personal data records were leaked, prompting the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to issue two administrative directives demanding enhanced security measures in March and April 2024. The ministry’s call for a re-examination of LY’s capital relationship has sparked controversy in Korea, and there are concerns that Japan could be attempting to seize management control of the company.

In a separate development, South Korean mobility platform Socar announced a collaboration with Naver that will enable users to access Socar’s car-sharing services directly via the Naver app and Naver Map. Users can search for “Socar” or “car-sharing” on the Naver app to locate nearby Socar zones, check available vehicles, and complete reservations and payments. Mandatory procedures, including identity verification and driver’s license checks, will also seamlessly be handled via Naver’s certification process.