Head of Line operator said to stress job security at meeting with Korean employees

Line logo seen its office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap)

The Japanese head of the operator of the popular Line messenger app attended a meeting with Naver Corp.'s employees and was said to pledge job security, an industry source said Wednesday, as the South Korean internet giant is under pressure from Tokyo to sell stake in Line.

Takeshi Idezawa, president of LY Corp., the operator of Line controlled by a joint venture between Naver and SoftBank of Japan, attended the meeting with employees of Line Plus Corp. on Tuesday, according to the source.

The meeting was held as Naver has been under pressure from the Japanese government to "review its capital relationship" in LY Corp. over a massive data leak of user information last year.

Both Naver and SoftBank confirmed that they have been in talks over a potential sale of its stake in LY Corp. Last week, Naver said it was open to "all possibilities" with regard to the Japanese government's administrative guidance.

During the meeting, Idezawa told employees of Line Plus, which supports the messenger app's global business, that he would "guarantee the employment" of workers at Line Plus, according to the source.

On Tuesday, South Korea's presidential office said the Japanese government should not take "unfavorable action" against Naver over concerns about data security. (Yonhap)