Anchor: Access to South Korea's leading web portal, Naver, has largely been blocked in various parts of China including capital Beijing as of Saturday, inconveniencing South Korean residents in the country. The move is speculated to be a response by China to an agreement by attendees of the Group of Seven Summit, including President Yoon Suk Yeol, to enhance checks on the country's economic influence.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: South Koreans residing in China's capital and other regions have encountered restricted access or a total block of South Korea’s leading internet portal, Naver.

Calls have poured in to Seoul’s Embassy in the country from South Koreans in Beijing as well as Shanghai and Shenyang inquiring about the inaccessibility.

The disruption began on Saturday, when world leaders attending the Group of Seven(G7) summit in Japan's Hiroshima, including President Yoon Suk Yeol, issued a joint statement committing to a reinforcement of measures aimed at keeping China in check.

Beijing previously limited access to Naver’s blog service in 2018, before restricting the cafe service of another portal, Daum, the following year amid a rise in anti-China postings. Naver's search engine, email and news services remained accessible until now.

Naver said it has confirmed the disrupted access to its website concentrated in Beijing, but is unable to determine whether the Chinese government has officially blocked access.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday that confirmation has yet to be made on the disruption and that there is no related information, directing inquiries to the relevant Chinese ministry.

While the foreign ministry in Seoul only stated that it is in the process of confirming the situation with relevant institutions, the government plans to draw up response measures once the situation is better understood.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.