The foreign ministry has suggested that government support can be provided only after Naver determines its stance on the Japanese government requesting Line Yahoo(LY) Corporation, which operates the Line chat app and internet portal Yahoo Japan, to decrease its capital dependence on South Korea’s leading web portal.

A ministry official said Thursday that the government’s role is to fully respect a company’s position and provide necessary support, hinting that the government cannot meddle in Naver’s business activities and will hold consultations with Tokyo once Naver decides on the support it needs from the government. 

Naver is facing pressure from the Japanese government to sell its stake in LY Corporation, which is a 50-50 joint venture between the South Korean company and Japan's SoftBank Group.

The Japanese government issued an administrative guidance to LY Corporation on two occasions, requesting the company to decrease its capital dependence on Naver following a string of data leaks resulting from hacking.

The possibility has increased of Line becoming a Japanese corporation as Naver is currently holding negotiations with Softbank on selling its stake. 

Launched in 2011, Line has 96 million monthly active users in Japan, which means most Japanese are using the app.