Minha Chung

Proven policy and regulatory leader with over 20 years of experience navigating complex policy landscapes in Korea's dynamic internet and technology sectors. A visionary in establishing industry self-governance models, including a leading role in founding KISO, to balance platform accountability with user and industry autonomy. Expert in driving collaboration among diverse stakeholders—from government bodies and national assemblies to internal business and product teams—to proactively shape policy narratives and achieve positive regulatory outcomes for tech companies.

• Stakeholder Engagement & Policy Strategy
• Developed and implemented regulatory response strategies by engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including government ministries, National Assembly members, academia and industry associations.
• Authored white papers and policy briefs to provide expert insights on tech policy and advocate for industry-friendly regulations.
• Self-Regulation & Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Established and utilized alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms, such as mediation and arbitration committees, to create efficient and fair policy alternatives to direct government regulation.
• Pioneered the development of industry self-governance models to effectively address policy challenges while fostering innovation and user protection.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Collaborated closely with legal, product, and engineering teams to advise on the political and regulatory implications of new services and product launches.
• Successfully aligned business objectives with public policy goals through strategic internal advocacy and cross-functional team leadership.

• Information and Communication Activation Promotion Working Committee
• Prime Minister's Office
• Advised on and helped implement strategies to accelerate the growth of new industries by streamlining regulations and encouraging innovation.
• Member, New Industry Regulatory Reform Committee
• Contributed to key initiatives for fostering innovation and removing regulatory barriers in emerging sectors.
• Member, Policy Committee
• Korea Internet Self-Governance Organization (KISO)
• Crafted and implemented self-regulatory policies for content, including policies on election-related posts, defamation, and false real estate listings.
• Member, Internet Advertising Dispute Mediation Committee
• KISA (Korea Internet & Security Agency)
• Contributed to resolving disputes and protecting small business owners from malicious advertising and promotional practices by online ad agencies.

• Efforts to counter the Search Service Provider Bill
• National Assembly Member, Jin Soo-Hee
• Successfully prevented excessive legislation by arguing that it could be sufficiently accommodated by existing competition laws, and that direct regulation of businesses in new industry sectors would hinder market competition and constitute excessive regulation in violation of the constitution.
• Article : “A bill to make automatic search services mandatory for portal sites is causing controversy.” (5/15/2007 Dailian)
• Rep. Jin Soo-hee Holds a Forum for the Enactment of the Portal Act to Mandate Social Responsibility for Portal Sites. ... Controversy is growing over a proposed 'mandatory automatic search service' provision that would prevent internet portal companies from manually altering or editing search results. (...)
• On the afternoon of May 15, Grand National Party Representative Jin Soo-hee held a forum at the National Assembly Members' Office Building to discuss the enactment of a 'Portal Act' (tentative name: Search Service Provider Act). She proposed that domestic search service providers be mandated to offer automatic search services to protect content providers (CPs).
• Minha Chung, Team Leader at Naver (NHN), the largest domestic portal company, said, "(The proposed) Search Service Provider Act can be accommodated by existing laws, and systems like automatic search services, the instant report button, and mandatory ad display are already being implemented or considered," and "There is a risk of being unconstitutional due to excessive regulation." (...)
• Developing a legal framework for limiting information provider liability concerning illegal activities by third-party content creators
• Korea Fair Trade Commission
• Defended against legal responsibility for bloggers' advertising violations by demonstrating that the company actively supported a self-purifying blogosphere, rather than enabling misconduct.
• Article : “Media attacks on power bloggers, but avoiding the core issue?” (7/27/2011 MediaToday)
• Amid a recent controversy where 'Babyrose,' a Naver 'power blogger,' promoted defective products and earned commissions from joint purchases, the argument has been raised that this issue should be viewed as a problem for all media's advertisers. (...)
• Chung Min-ha, NHN's Policy Director, stated, "Referring to the Fair Trade Commission's guidelines on display and advertising, we plan to apply these standards when deciding on new selections or maintaining existing qualifications for power bloggers who violate the guidelines by engaging in commercial activities like joint purchases." He added, "If a problem arises, we are considering disqualifying them from the power blogger selection."
• Director Chung countered the 'portal responsibility theory' by stating, "The portal did not influence consumers' choices through power bloggers." (...) He further stated, "As part of our efforts to create a proper blog review culture, we plan to further strengthen and operate the 'Green Review Campaign' that we have been running." (...)
• Proposing Self-Regulation as an Alternative to Regulating the Distribution of Illegal and Harmful Content
• Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC)
• Successfully countered unreasonable regulations on the distribution of illegal or harmful online information by proposing a logic of self-regulation as a more effective solution and presenting the establishment of a self-regulatory body as an alternative.
• Article : “Internet Information 'Self-Regulation' is More Efficient... Legal Support is Urgent” (12/8/2013 NewsTomato)
• An opinion has been raised that portal operators' self-regulation is more efficient than the government's direct regulation of illegal and harmful internet posts. The argument was also made that legal support for private sector self-regulation is urgently needed. (...)
• Chung Min-ha, Director of Naver's External Cooperation Office, stated in a discussion, "As information intermediaries, portal operators face a burden in independently judging the illegality and harmfulness of information," and offered the opinion that the scope of private self-regulation should be legally and clearly defined. Director Chung argued, "While monitoring child pornography under sex offender protection laws can be demanded of businesses in the name of social responsibility, it amounts to forcing businesses to make judgments about illegality."
• Pointing out the Problem with the Concept of Search Neutrality Regarding the Government's Search Service Recommendations
• Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning
• Argued that search neutrality is an inappropriate regulatory logic by presenting the opinion that the search algorithm itself is the key element that enables the differentiation of search services, thereby thwarting government attempts at regulation.
• Article : “Government's Recommendations for Internet Search Services are Inappropriate” (12/18/2013 Yonhapnews)
• An argument has been made that the 'Recommendations for the Development of Internet Search Services' issued by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning to major portal operators like Naver is a flawed policy that allows the government to indirectly intervene in the market. (...)
• Chung Min-ha, Director of Naver's Policy Cooperation Office, expressed concern, stating, "From a business perspective, public intervention is only necessary when user harm is significant and companies' unfair practices are severe. At present, with no clear harm to users or service providers, premature government regulation could only harm the competitiveness of businesses."
• Director Chung also pointed out that the very concept of 'search neutrality' is problematic. He criticized, "The reason for the existence of a search algorithm is based on differentiation. The idea that search should be neutral means all search results are the same, which is equivalent to saying that each country should only have one search service." (...)
• Contending that search advertising functions as information, countering allegations of consumer harm
• Challenged the demand for consumer compensation from search ad exposure, arguing that the harm was unproven. Instead, advanced a strategy focused on implementing various co-existence measures for the broader ecosystem.
• Article : “FTC, Is allowing 'consent decree' for internet search companies a 'get out of jail free' card?... Interest in the content of the corrective measures” (12/29/2013 ChosunBiz)
• The 'provisional corrective measures' proposed by Naver and Daum Communications (Daum), which were criticized by the Fair Trade Commission for abusing their dominant market position through unfair practices, are expected to be revealed soon. However, it has been reported that the provisional corrective measures, applied for through a consent decree to avoid tens of billions of won in fines, will in fact not include any relief plans for companies that were harmed by Naver's and Daum's unfair practices. (...)
• This limitation on compensation was also raised at a seminar on 'Recommendations for the Development of Internet Search Services' held at the National Assembly on the 18th, with officials from the Fair Trade Commission, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, and representatives from Naver and Daum in attendance.
• Chung Min-ha, Director at Naver, stated, "It is not clear what kind of harm has occurred to consumers who click on a search result not knowing it is an advertisement," and "It is unreasonable to regulate an unclear harm." Director Jeong added, "However, we have already implemented measures such as separating search ads from regular ads out of a desire for co-existence within the ecosystem, not because we admit to user harm, and we are considering various other options." (...)
• Publicizing a balanced approach to personal data protection regulations, in consultation with academic experts, to weigh user convenience from commercial data use against user protection
• Korean Association of Privacy Law
• Facilitated discussions with academic experts, including members of the Personal Information Protection Commission, on the level of regulatory relief for personal data utilization, and sponsored the presentation of their findings at an academic conference.
• Article : “Ease Personal Data Protection Regulations to Boost ICT Industry like Big Data” (4/24/2015 DigitalTimes)
• Internet companies and major IT corporations have voiced their demand for eased personal data protection regulations to 'revitalize the industry.' On the 22nd, the Korean Association of Privacy Law, sponsored by the Korea Internet Corporations Association, held an academic conference at Post Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, titled 'Issues and Challenges of Personal Data Legislation for ICT Industry Revitalization.'
• Professor Lee Chang-beom of Kyung Hee University, who gave a presentation, pointedly stated that current personal data protection regulations are hindering industrial growth. He explained, "In Korea, we have an all-encompassing opt-in regulation that broadly defines 'electronic transmission media' and mandates prior user consent, resulting in more regulation than is necessary."
• Professor Lee emphasized, "Regulations are inconsistent, with no clear definition of what constitutes advertising information, leading to reliance on the interpretation of regulatory agencies for each case. We need to create a clear guideline that considers both the protection and utilization of personal data, determining to what extent regulations should be eased for the proper use of personal information."
• Advocating for the establishment of multiple private pre-review organizations to ensure swift review based on the professional expertise of medical advertisement review
• National Assembly Member, Nam In-Soon
• Proposed that a prior review system for medical advertisements, based on professional expertise, should be led by a private self-regulatory body, and argued for the introduction of multiple review organizations to ensure efficiency.
• Article : “Agreement on Mandatory Prior Review for Medical Advertisements... Differing Views on Self-Regulation” (2/16/2017 DoctorsNews)
• (...) A public hearing on the 'Medical Service Act Amendment Bill Related to Prior Self-Review of Medical Advertisements' was held on the 15th, co-hosted by Rep. Nam In-soon, the Consumers' Union of Korea, and the Korea Internet Advertising Foundation. (...)
• Chung Min-ha, Director at Naver, agreed with the preparation of the amendment, stating that mandatory prior review of medical advertisements is an inevitable legislative choice.
• Director Chung said, "From the media's perspective, there are limitations in our expertise, making it difficult to perform a perfect post-review. I respect the legislative intent of the amendment, which limits the subject of prior review to private organizations, not the government."
• He added the opinion that, in respect of the legislative intent of private-sector review, the medical advertisement review body should be open to the participation of multiple institutions. (...)
• Preventing the enactment of a special law for online advertising by arguing that it would constitute unnecessary overregulation
• National Assembly Member, Shin Kyoung-Min
• Advocated against the creation of a special law for online advertising, arguing that applying broadcasting regulations, which are typically imposed on licensed broadcasters, to internet service providers would constitute overregulation. This argument was based on the principle that online services should not be subject to the same level of regulation as broadcast media.
• Article : “What to do about 'inconvenient ads' online? Facing off over regulation at a National Assembly forum.” (12/12/2017 BusinessPost)
• An opinion has been raised that advertisements that interfere with the use of online services and content should be regulated. While the Korea Communications Commission is currently implementing measures to regulate such ads, it is deemed insufficient.
• Rep. Shin Kyoung-min of the Democratic Party of Korea, along with the Consumers' Union of Korea and the Korea Internet Advertising Foundation, held a forum on December 12 at the National Assembly Members' Office Building to explore ways to improve inconvenient online advertisements. (...)
• Chung Min-ha, Director at Naver, stated, "The advertisement itself is not what's inconvenient. It's a matter of user choice whether they want to enjoy content for a fee or use it for free while viewing ads," adding, "The Korea Communications Commission is currently defining what level of 'inconvenient ads' requires regulation."
• Director Chung also added, "Online advertising does not have a separate special law, but it is subject to the same laws. The direction of horizontal regulation is correct, but there is a problem with applying regulations like public interest obligations, which are imposed on licensed broadcasters, to advertisements on other media." (...)
• Improving regulations to allow blog URLs to be set as advertising landing pages
• Ministry of Health and Welfare
• Secured a regulatory change allowing blog URLs to serve as landing pages for search ads, which directly led to the launch of the 'Content Search Ad' product and generated a new annual revenue stream of approximately 30 billion KRW.
• Pioneering a Self-Regulatory Body and Establishing Content and Information Processing Principles Through Policy Decisions
• Korea Internet Self-Governance Organization (KISO)
• Led the establishment of a self-regulatory body (KISO) and reduced the burden of corporate liability by using this organization to determine the principles for handling user-generated content and provided information.
• Established principles for handling user-generated content and information related to issues such as defamation of public figures, internet service standards for elections, related and auto-complete search terms, discriminatory expressions in online spaces, accounts and posts of deceased individuals, and youth protection.
• Provided support for balancing freedom of expression with the infringement of user rights, by ensuring Naver does not handle posts arbitrarily and that the processing principles are determined as KISO policies.