SEOUL, The presidential office said Tuesday a report set to be filed with the Japanese government by LY Corp. will not include plans for stake sales by the South Korean portal giant Naver Corp. Naver has been under pressure from the Japanese government to "review its capital relationship" in LY Corp., the operator of Line controlled by a joint venture between Naver and SoftBank of Japan, over a massive data leak of user information. "We have been communicating with Naver, and LY's report set to be submitted to the Japanese government will not include plans for Naver selling stakes," a high-ranking presidential official said over the phone. "The Japanese government should not disadvantage Naver because the report did not include a stake sales plan," the official added. It marked the first time for the presidential office to directly address the possibility that Naver would not sell its stakes to SoftBank. In a separate briefing, Sung Tae-yoon, director of national policy at the presidential office, also noted the Japanese government should not take "unfavorable action" against Naver in the event the South Korean tech giant addresses its concerns about data security. Sung made the remark as Naver has faced apparent pressure from the Japanese government to sell its stake in the operator of Line, the biggest messenger app in Japan that Naver developed, following a massive leak of user information last year. "In the event appropriate measures to strengthen data security are submitted, we should never have to see the Japanese government take unfavorable action against the will of Naver concerning its capital structure," Sung said during a press briefing. Sung noted the Japanese government has stated several times there was no mention of a stake sale in the administrative guidance it issued to LY, Line's operator, earlier this year, nor any reference to control of the company. "In the event LY plans to submit measures to strengthen data security to the Japanese government, excluding a change in the capital str ucture, our government will fully provide the necessary assistance to Naver," Sung said, citing technical and administrative counseling as examples. "Going forward, our government will continue to respond thoroughly and strongly so that our companies do not face discriminatory action or unfair treatment against the company's will overseas," he added. The presidential office made a similar statement a day earlier, saying the government will "respond firmly and strongly in the event of unfair measures in the least bit against the will of our companies." Source: Yonhap News Agency