NAVER Corporation (KOSE:A035420) Chief Executive Officer Choi Soo-yeon confirmed the company will not sell its stake in Japan's LY Corporation (TSE:4689), the operator of popular mobile messenger Line, in the "short term" amid LY's push to lessen its dependence on Naver. "We don't plan to sell the stake in the short term," Choi said, while noting the company cannot give confirmation on its mid-to-long term strategy. Naver, Korea's biggest internet portal operator, holds a 50% stake in A Holdings, the parent company of LY, while Japan's SoftBank Group holds the other half.

The three companies have been in talks over possibly reshaping their capital structure since Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications issued administrative guidance to LY earlier this year regarding the data leak incident, urging it to decrease its dependence on Naver.