Susan Elder, the wife of Kang Hyung-wook, who ran the dog training company Bodeum, recently said that after Naver Works transitioned to a paid service, an admin page was created that allowed them to view conversations between employees in real-time. (Photo: a screenshot from a Youtube video)
SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) – Allegations that a famous dog trainer and his wife monitored messages exchanged between employees on a workplace collaboration app called Naver Works have sparked concerns over potential privacy violations involving such programs, which often include messaging capabilities.
According to IT industry insiders, Susan Elder, the wife of Kang Hyung-wook, who ran the dog training company Bodeum, recently said that after Naver Works transitioned to a paid service, an admin page was created that allowed them to view conversations between employees in real-time. “Through this, I could see the conversations employees were having with each other,” she stated.
Kang explained, “The messenger used at the company has an audit function, so we also had employees sign an agreement stating not to have personal conversations outside of work matters.”
Naver Works is a collaboration tool that includes messaging along with features like message boards, calendars, address books, and email. It is commonly used by startups and small-to-medium businesses without robust internal networks for employee communication.
The controversy surrounding Kang has centered on the ability of Naver Works admins to access all information posted by users on the platform without filters, including chat logs, uploaded files, photos, and access records through an “audit function.”
As an administrator, it was possible to view all conversations between members in real-time, including content posted to personal “message boards visible only to me.” (Photo: a screenshot of the Naver Works app)
When this reporter created an admin account on Naver Works on May 27 and 28 and invited some users to test the audit capability, it was possible to view all conversations between members in real-time, including content posted to personal “message boards visible only to me.”
Many users say they were unaware of this level of access. “I was informed that information going through the work program could be seen by the admin,” said an individual referred to only as Lee, 41, an architect. “But I didn’t know that even the ‘message board visible only to me’ described as ‘a place to write down notes’ could also be exposed.”
Experts say companies using such programs need to clearly inform members about what specific personal information may be visible to admins and for what purposes, based on South Korea’s privacy laws requiring only the minimum necessary personal data be legally collected for intended uses.
“Admins should notify members what information is stored through the program and for how long, and ensure the data is only used for its original purpose,” emphasized Kim Myuhng Joo, a professor of information security at Seoul Women’s University. He added that the “message board visible only to me” feature is potentially misleading if others can actually access it.
Shin Jongchul, a visiting professor at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of Law, noted that “Companies using these programs must be cautious, and the platform providers also need to make efforts to minimize privacy issues.”
A Naver spokesperson stated the audit function exists in other workplace collaboration apps to allow evidence gathering for security incidents, and that companies should properly inform employees. Regarding the “message visible only to me” feature, the spokesperson said that the company would look into whether it was included in monitoring.
An official from South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission said they had not formally investigated the workplace app issue yet, stating “We are reviewing the publicly known facts and monitoring the situation.”
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
