Naver AI Mislabels Dokdo as Japanese Territory
Naver's AI Briefing service listed Dokdo as Japanese territory when users searched for Japanese territories, reportedly drawing information from Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Naver removed the content and disabled the feature after a university professor publicly reported the error on 30 October 2025.
What happened
On 30 October 2025, Seo Kyung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, reported that Naver's AI Briefing service returned Dokdo as Japanese territory when users searched 'Japanese territory' or 'Japan territory' in Korean. The system listed Dokdo using the Japanese name 'Takeshima' alongside other disputed territories and stated Korea and Japan were in dispute over it.
The analysis indicated the mislabeling stemmed from the AI system drawing information from Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website to answer policy questions. Naver took down the problematic briefing response before 8:10 a.m. on 30 October and disabled AI Briefing results for searches on Japanese territory to prevent re-exposure.
Reported impact
Seo Kyung-duk stated that this error by a major domestic platform was extremely serious, as Dokdo is a nationally sensitive and important subject that demands accurate reflection and verification of historical facts. He noted that overseas AI systems like ChatGPT mostly label Dokdo as disputed territory, and that a domestic portal's failure to validate such information was unacceptable.
Index analysis
The AI Briefing service is designed to minimize confusion and error in public and policy information by basing answers on public documents from government agencies. However, the system generated misleading territorial claims by relying on foreign government sources without domestic verification or context.
Governance controls
Naver stated it took immediate action upon recognizing the issue and committed to enhanced service improvements to ensure AI Briefing generates results better suited to queries, with plans for continuous refinement. The company indicated the service was in experimental stage.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.