KOREA: Internet a key playing field for politicians, but has pitfalls

Web fosters debate between politicians and citizens alike, but it can also offer platform for inappropriate content, controversial views

The Korea Herald
Friday, February 11, 2005

By Lee Joo-hee

Kim Duk-kyu has been in politics some 40 years but it's only been about four to five years since the National Assembly vice speaker set up his own Web site - and now he can hardly operate without it.

The Web site features the 63-year-old Kim's profile, his main achievements, policies and schedule, and carries a discussion board for people to leave messages and suggest ideas.

Checking the Internet and replying to a variety of postings from voters are very much a part of Kim's daily routine nowadays.

"Rep. Kim goes into his Web site as often as possible as he believes it is one of the most important communication tools," said aide Kim Jung-hoon.

While Kim is one of many senior lawmakers hurriedly catching up to the "Internet politics" phenomenon, younger lawmakers like Rhyu Si-min have already found a secure place in the digital world by using the Web to generate debates, promulgate policies and even collect support funds.
Politicians and parties alike are running highly competitive Internet pages to appeal to Internet-user voters and effectively manage their support base and party members.

The Internet is also widely used as a debating ground between politicians, with more and more lawmakers and Cabinet members openly criticizing or discussing activities by writing letters on the Web.

"The Internet is probably the fastest and the most efficient way to spread the word, while politicians can approach the public more personally," a parliamentary official said. "It is thus an extremely delicate and difficult job to get the right words across to everyone."

The National Election Commission says voters in their 20s and 30s, who are the most avid Internet users, will comprise 49.3 percent of the entire voting population in the 2007 presidential election, higher than 48.3 percent in 2002.

President Roh Moo-hyun himself is no stranger to the power of the Internet; his fan club "Nosamo" was created and operated mainly on the Internet and is credited with helping to propel him to his come-from-behind victory in the 2002 presidential election.

There are different types of Internet politicking, with some choosing the conventional way by creating their own Web sites, while others join the wide Internet network "Cyworld," which gives individuals a miniature homepage and links members in a sprawling net.

Grand National Party Chairwoman Park Geun-hye, Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak and Health and Welfare Minister Kim Geun-tae are among the most avid Cyworld members.

More than 2.3 million people have visited Park's mini-homepage (www.cyworld.com/ghism) since it was launched a year ago.

The site features pictures of her childhood, her daily activities and her home. Park describes each picture herself, and there are hundreds of replies from viewers.

There are however problems that can occur from the diversifying Internet politics.

"Although debates can be activated in an open environment, the Web sites can also be used as self-promotional tools for politicians, or be abused by opponents with inappropriate postings," a parliamentary official said on condition of anonymity.

"There is no mediating tool to screen out insulting or aggressive writing by people, or even some of the more radical political opinions."

The official noted that responses from people on the Internet could also be interpreted falsely as being the opinions of the public in general.

Most recently, GNP spokeswoman Chun Yu-ok challenged some of her own party members by criticizing them of "turning against" Chairwoman Park by writing a statement on her Web site.

"They have hung tightly onto Chairwoman Park's skirt, pleading with her to save them from the backlash after the party impeached President Roh, and now all they are doing is thinking of ways to escape the storm of the probe into the past," Chun said.

She was referring to escalating criticism of Chairwoman Park's leadership by various factions. Park currently faces a political quagmire as the government sets out to probe contentious events in the past half-century, most of which occurred under the military rule of her late father, former President Park Chung-hee.

Chun's statement spawned much debate, with some questioning whether as spokeswoman of the GNP she was entitled to voice her personal thoughts on her own Web site; others wondered whether she was overdoing her right to freedom of expression by voicing her personal opinion about the attitude of some lawmakers.

Last year, a large number of Chairwoman Park's supporters bombarded the Web site of GNP Rep. Lee Jae-oh after he strongly criticized Park's leadership; the surge of messages temporarily shut down his Web site.

In July the same year, a heated debate prevailed politics when a citizen posted on the official Web site of Cheong Wa Dae a parodied version of a movie poster featuring Chairwoman Park as a woman lying on a bed wearing a skimpy nightgown and a man overlooking her. Angry GNP members demanded the Blue House make an official aplogy for having failed to screen and delete such a "vulgar" content.

Health and Welfare Minister Kim Geun-tae also suffered a backlash after he posted on his Web site a letter protesting the government's plan to expand investment of pension funds into public projects.

Following harsh criticism from the ruling camp for posting a "personal" view publicly, Kim withdrew his comments.

"Politics on the Internet will continue to grow. We need a tool to guide the expansion in a healthy direction," an assistant to an Uri Party lawmaker said.

It seems that the use of the Internet by politicians is now becoming more systematic with each passing day.

The National Assembly this year plans to expand the contents of Web site slots for lawmakers to more than 80 different types for diversity and has set aside 30 million won for the project.

And, the Uri Party has established an "e-Party Committee" headed by Rep. Rhyu Si-min to concentrate on its online party operations.

Politicians and parties alike are running highly competitive Internet pages to appeal to Internet-user voters and effectively manage their support base and party members.