Futurize Korea

A Korean man was arrested late last week for spreading false information online after Korean prosecutors identified him as the anonymous writer "Minerva" who become popular among Korean people tracking his economic predictions.

Last December, The Economist profiled the emergence of Minerva as an “online Nostradamus” for the financial markets in Korea:

Minerva became an internet phenomenon, with 40m-odd hits to date. Web-users combed through previous posts, looking for prognostications, and clues about his identity. Sharp comments on the state of the Korean economy and government policy only increased his standing. The media now call him “the Internet Economic President”.

There are of course a lot of issues surrounding this story, but with the Internet being used to organize mass anti-government protests in the summer of 2008 it’s hardly surprising to see the government attach a stigma to anything to do with the Internet. The Financial Times gives one example from an adviser to the president:

The Korean government's panic over Minerva and other web-based rumour-mongers reflects a greater concern about the political role of the internet in South Korea, the country with the world's greatest per capita access to cyberspace.

An adviser to President Lee Myung-bak, a conservative former businessman, admitted to the Financial Times last month the government was trying to determine how to counter the influence of internet chat-rooms in Korean society, famed for its fiery temper.

One method chosen by the Korea Communications Commission regulatory body was to draft new rules in December for Korean portals:

Facing a tougher set of regulations that may endanger their business model based on unlimited freedom of expression, portals are introducing self-regulatory measures, albeit to little avail.

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has been looking to rewrite the country's media law and put major Internet sites under the same regulatory framework of news organizations, meaning more regulations and deeper scrutiny.

Another example that Chang of Web 2.0 Asia pointed out was legislation from a member of the ruling government party last July to create an “Internet Newspaper Law”:

All I can say is the politicians *so* don't get it - anywhere in the world, even in this cutting-edge Korean society. I certainly hope this laughable proposal won't pass.

The International Herald Times comes up with a good summary of the political back and forth over Minerva:

The government camp hopes that Park's case will lend weight to the Lee government's attempt to regulate the country's vigorous and unruly online communities. But the main opposition Democratic Party has accused the government of gagging the Internet, a popular venue for anti-government criticism. It has lined up high-profile lawyers to defend Park.

Here are a few additional editorials from local newspapers on the implications of the arrest from both sides of the spectrum:

Dong-A Ilbo: What Created the False Prophet ‘Minerva?"

Chosun Ilbo: 'Minerva' Scandal Exposes a Deeper Malaise

JoongAng Daily: Trouble in cyberspace

The Hankyoreh: Is the government allergic to free expression?

The Korea Times: Cyber Pundit’s Arrest