In response to criticism that LINE was ”transferred to Japan,” South Korean Prime Minister says, ”It's news and incitement”

On the 2nd, South Korean Prime Minister Han Deok-soo announced that Hwang Jeong A, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, the largest opposition party in South Korea, had claimed that "LINE, which was developed in our country, was transferred to Japan."
"That is exactly what Fei News is, and incitement," he said. Prime Minister Han said at a general meeting of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts that day, "Japan will not be involved in the transfer of ownership.
"I think that they have made their position clear," he said. Prime Minister Han responded, "The government should never criticize the administration in this way," and "I am truly disappointed in the public servants who work in the administration."
Previously, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan issued administrative guidance to LINE and Yahoo in connection with the LINE customer information leak incident that occurred in November last year, and asked them to "reconsider their capital relationship with Naver."
After the issue developed into a diplomatic issue, the Japanese government, through bilateral discussions including the Japan-Korea summit in May, actually demanded a reconsideration of the capital relationship with Naver.
The Prime Minister then retracted the above statement. Naver also stated that it would not sell its shares related to LINE, and the controversy was temporarily settled. Prime Minister Han then responded to a related question from Kang Seung-kyu, a lawmaker from the ruling People Power Party, by saying,
However, he said, "Our government has repeatedly told (the Japanese side) that measures should not be taken against the will of the people, and this was also discussed at the Japan-Korea summit."
"We told the Korean side that we have absolutely no intention of doing so," he said. "The transfer of LINE to Japan is a transfer of ownership, but is that the government's intention?"
"We held appropriate and necessary discussions with the Japanese government to see if this might have happened," he said, emphasizing, "We would like to state clearly that such a thing (transferring LINE to Japan) absolutely did not happen."
In response to a question from Rep. Hwang, "Do you remember the incident last year when you said that Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima) is not our country's territory?" Prime Minister Han replied, "Yes,
"I immediately apologized and said I misheard the question," he said. "Lok Do is clearly our country's territory, and that's as natural as a spouse is, and it's so obvious that there's no need to check it every morning."
In response to the question, "Do you agree that our country's economy grew through Japanese colonial rule?" Prime Minister Han said, "I don't agree," but added, "The statistics from that time
"I think that scholars who study these issues can express such opinions," he said. Prime Minister Han said, "I don't think that our country developed because of Japan."
"It is based largely on the excellence of the people and the will of the people to achieve something," he emphasized. In addition, when Rep. Hwang asked about the nationality of his ancestors during the Japanese colonial period, Prime Minister Han responded, "Of course, our
"I have Korean nationality," he said, but added, "There may be some controversy because it was a forced merger with Japan." He added, "If there are people who think they have Japanese nationality, it is because it was imposed through a forced agreement.
"Were our ancestors treated the same as Japanese nationals? They were thoroughly discriminated against. Some people consider themselves Japanese nationals, while others consider them to be ordinary Japanese nationals.
It was a miscalculation," he said.