Controversy over Removing Negative Keywords
According to the First Half of 2017 Search Word Verification Report released by the Korea Internet Self-governance Organization (KISO) on June 26, Naver excluded relative keywords about rumors on the privacy of Chey Tae-won, chairman of the SK Group as Naver believed that the relative keywords may lead to the defamation of Chey’s character.
It was revealed that Naver blocked relative keywords about Cho Hyun-ah, a former vice president of Korean Air and celebrities last year.
"We received requests from the companies to remove relative keywords that could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings."
However, "We agree that some search words are subject to exclusion due to defamation or privacy violation concerns," the Verification Committee said. "However, the removal of relative keywords was excessive processing without proper procedures."
In addition, “Negative search words are also part of public interest,” the committee said with respect to the frequent deletion of entertainer-related search words. "Demand for the deletion of negative search words is entertainers’ contradictory attitude as they earn income based on popularity."
On the other hand, the KISO is an organization launched by Internet business operators to deal with their industrial issues autonomously. Naver has been having this organization verify search words since 2012 when controversy was aroused over search word manipulation.