Foreign minister Cho Tae-yul on Friday pledged to closely consult with domestic businesses and actively work to ensure that they are not unfairly treated when pursuing overseas projects and investments.

At an event to launch a foreign policy consultative body on artificial intelligence(AI) and the digital sector with the science ministry, Cho called on the two ministries to strategically respond together to protect national interests in an era in which the economy, security and technology are converging.

The government, however, has denied that the consultative body was launched in relation to the latest controversy over the Japanese government advising the operator of the Line mobile app to reduce its financial reliance on South Korean tech giant Naver.

Earlier, Tokyo directed Line operator LY Corporation, jointly owned by Naver and Japan's SoftBank Group, to "review its capital relationship" with Naver over a massive data leak of user information.

Korea’s foreign and science ministries plan to use the new body to share trends in domestic and overseas AI and digital policies, as well as regulations by leading economies and international bodies to jointly respond to the establishment of global standards.