Unionized workers at South Korean tech giant Naver issued a statement to officially oppose the company's selling of shares in Japan's LY Corporation, the operator of the Line messaging app.

In the statement on Monday, the Naver chapter under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU) said protecting Line-affiliated workers, as well as their technology and knowledge, should be given priority and the best way to do so would be by declining to sell LY shares.

The union said that selling the shares would not just be giving up a major shareholder position, but also handing over Naver's technology and experience to Japan's SoftBank Group, which holds the other half of LY Corporation.

The union said should any of Naver's 50 percent stake be taken over by SoftBank, more than two-thousand-500 Line-affiliated workers could face uncertainties.

The workers urged the government to actively and firmly respond to rising concerns over domestic businesses being unfairly treated overseas and having their technology seized, stressing that SoftBank's request to increase shares due to a security breach is unreasonable.