Naver's News Partnership Committee will begin reviewing new partnership applications starting next month.
According to Naver on the 21st, the Partnership Committee held a policy briefing session at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, the previous day, announcing regulations for new partnership reviews and operational evaluations. This marks the resumption of news partnership reviews 2 years and 9 months after the Portal News Partnership Evaluation Committee, which both major portals had participated in, ceased operations.
The Partnership Committee will begin accepting new applications for news content and search partnerships through Naver News's partnership information page starting March 3rd. Partnership reviews will follow in April, operational evaluations in May, with results to be announced in the third or fourth quarter.
The Partnership Committee consists of a Policy Committee, Partnership Review Committee, Operational Evaluation Committee, and Appeals Review Committee. Additionally, a Diversity Task Force will be established to explore ways to revitalize regional media outlets.
The partnership review and operational evaluation regulations established by the Policy Committee focus on contributing to an environment where journalistic values are respected, while ensuring procedural legitimacy, fairness, and reliability in partnership reviews and operational evaluations.
The Partnership Review Committee handles new partnership reviews for news content and search partnerships. Reviews will be conducted once annually, with quantitative and qualitative evaluations each worth 50 points.
Quantitative evaluation comprehensively examines basic requirements for news service provision, including article production capabilities and media company operational status. Media companies meeting quantitative criteria will undergo qualitative evaluation, which introduces a review method based on evaluators' specialized fields. The Committee explains this will ensure fairness and expertise throughout the review process.
The Operational Evaluation Committee oversees operational evaluations of existing Naver partner media companies. Monthly regular meetings will monitor partner compliance with regulations, with evaluation scores assigned based on results.
If objections are filed regarding partnership review or operational evaluation results, an Appeals Review Committee will convene for deliberation. Media companies can file appeals through the independently constituted Appeals Review Committee regarding procedural violations, errors, or omitted explanations.
Members of the Partnership Review and Operational Evaluation Committees will be randomly selected each evaluation period from a "candidate pool" comprising former members of organizations and committees conducting media-related reviews and evaluations—including the Media Diversity Committee, Opinion Concentration Survey Committee, Korea Press Ethics Commission, and Internet Press Ethics Committee—as well as reader and viewer committees operated by qualified media companies.
"Based on the newly established 'Naver News Partnership Review and Operational Evaluation Regulations,' we will concentrate our efforts on ensuring fairness, independence, and expertise in news services," said Choi Sung-jun, Chairman of the Partnership Committee. "We will operate the entire review and evaluation process transparently and fairly."