Daum founder regrets calling FTC chief ‘arrogant’
The founder of Daum, the country’s second-biggest online portal, expressed regret for criticizing the chief of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) as being “arrogant.”
However, he continued attacking the FTC chief for his comments about Lee Hae-jin, founder of the country’s top portal Naver and his longtime friend.
Daum founder Lee Jae-woong caused the controversy with a Facebook comment Saturday, in which he criticized FTC Chairman Kim Sang-jo.
“I am not sure how many great achievements Kim will make in the future. However, it is arrogant for him to evaluate the entrepreneur who nurtured the best internet company in Korea and Japan from scratch, without any help from the government,” Lee said.
He added that he is angry as a fellow entrepreneur.
The Facebook post refers to Kim’s comments about Lee Hae-jin, founder and global investment officer (GIO) of Naver.
In a recent interview with local media, the FTC chief said Naver will get complaints from the public if it continues with its business practices.
He also compared Lee to Steve Jobs. He said that while Jobs was a visionary who deserved widespread respect, Lee of Naver failed to inspire such a vision for Korean society.
The FTC also designated Naver as a quasi-conglomerate recently, which will apply stricter antitrust regulations to it. It designated Lee Hae-jin as “the head of the business group,” despite his efforts to avoid this. He explained he is different from other chaebol chairmen, citing his small stake in Naver and the decision-making process focusing on the board of directors. The FTC, however, ruled that Lee has de facto control over Naver like other chaebol chairmen.
Daum founder Lee explained on Facebook that he didn’t mean to criticize the FTC for regulating Naver.
“Even IT firms or those grown from startups may be subject to government regulations once they reach a certain size so they can fulfill their social responsibility,” he wrote on Facebook.
Ahead of the FTC’s designation of Naver as a quasi-conglomerate, however, he had commented on Facebook that the government should not over-regulate companies like Naver, which has a transparent governance structure.
“I criticized the government official’s evaluation of Lee Hae-jin that he lacks vision for the future, which was made after a short meeting,” Daum founder Lee said.
He said he was angry when he made the comment, as entrepreneurs who nurture startups from scratch don’t get their due respect. “However, it is my fault for using the word arrogant and making such a comment without a detailed explanation,” he said.
At the same time, the FTC chief also said Monday that he made “inappropriate remarks” as a public servant, referring to his critical comments on the Naver founder.
“Daum founder Lee Jae-woong made an accurate and courageous criticism (of me). I thank him for that, and I will take his advice seriously,” Kim said.