As controversy erupted after anonymous answers that politicians, entertainers and other celebrities had written in the past on Naver Knowledge iN were exposed, Choi Soo-yeon, Naver's CEO, issued an official apology. Choi said she had reported the matter to the Personal Information Protection Commission and would fully cooperate with a future investigation. The judgment was that the exposure of anonymous activity could constitute an invasion of privacy.
On the 6th, Choi posted a statement titled "We apologize" on Naver's notice board, saying, "For two days, Feb. 3–4, after an update to the Knowledge iN service, a L.I.N.C allowing users with People Information registrations to check their past Knowledge iN answer history was exposed in People Information search results," and added, "We sincerely apologize for causing concern to our users."
Choi said, "Naver recognized the situation and completed measures at around 10 p.m. on the 4th, and the Knowledge iN profile L.I.N.C is no longer provided in Naver People Information," adding, "Because the update has been restored to its original state (rollback), we believe the same problem will not occur in the future." She continued, "Beyond People Information and Knowledge iN, Naver plans to conduct rigorous inspections of related settings and processes across services to ensure similar issues never recur."
On the 4th, as Naver's People profiles and Knowledge iN services were linked, some answer records that prominent figures in Korea had left on the Knowledge iN service in the past were exposed. Online, posts suspected to be past answers by Cheon Ha-ram, floor leader of the Reform Party, broadcaster Hong Jin Kyung, mixed martial arts fighter Myeong Hyeon-man, and sports announcer Gwak Min-seon spread. In Cheon's case, content posted during college was spotlighted again, and Hong's and Myeong's answers were quickly shared, mainly on community forums. Sports announcer Gwak Min-seon said she was deleting her past Knowledge iN answers one by one, adding, "This is the first time I've felt such shame."
Choi said, "Naver takes this matter seriously and has proactively reported it to the Personal Information Protection Commission, and we will fully cooperate with the Personal Information Protection Commission's investigation going forward," adding, "We will take responsible measures to prevent the spread of harm and recurrence so that users who have been affected by this incident do not suffer additional difficulties or trouble."