INSIDE JoongAng Daily

INSIDE JoongAng Daily: "Portal monopoly: Naver,Daum, Nate too powerful?
February 22, 2007

Controversy is growing on whether major Internet portal sites are a monopoly in the market and, if so, if they are abusing that position. Portals are being accused of unfair use of Internet content and price-fixing.
A day after the Fair Trade Commission announced that it would launch an investigation into three major portals (Naver, Daum and Nate) to examine the issue, an open discussion was held at the National Assembly yesterday.

The first issue brought up was whether the three portals are a monopoly.
Jeong Hae-deok, an attorney, said that in 2005, revenue at the three portals, mostly from advertising profits, accounted for 87 percent of what all portals made. According to Korean fair trade laws, if one company has 50 percent or more of market share, or if up to three companies hold more than 75 percent of the market, it is considered “dominant” market share and thus becomes subject to fair trade regulations."