Internet users are often bewildered by unconfirmed news, groundless rumors, slanderous remarks and other false information in cyberspace. Actually we now live with information flooding from the Internet. Netizen has become a household word. Students, housewives, workers, businessmen, scholars and other professionals cannot do without going online. This is all the more true in South Korea, a global leader in Internet use as well as in information and communication technology.
South Koreans have recently realized how powerful the Internet is. Netizens initiated protests against a Korea-U.S. beef trade deal that was designed to fully open the local market to American beef imports. They have also organized candlelit rallies against the government for ignoring public concerns about mad cow disease. The netizens' protests have given birth to Web activism, prompting the public to actively participate in the government's decision-making process and call for policy changes in a bid to ensure food safety and their health.
However, the expanding Internet use and Web activism are not without their problems. Distribution of rumors, false information and libelous remarks could bring about unpredictable consequences, including quarrels, fights, murders and suicides. The Internet has often become the target of hacking, fraud, drug trading, prostitution and other crimes. In particular, the Internet might be abused or misused to spread unconfirmed news or groundless stories. Therefore, Internet users are required to abide by ``netiquette" and other rules and laws in order to avoid conducting irresponsible and illegal acts on the net.
President Lee Myung-bak used the term ``infodemics" in his speech to the opening session of the newly elected National Assembly on July 11. It is obvious that he used word to express his strong dissatisfaction with the candlelit protests organized by netizens. ``A society rampant with excessive emotional behavior, disorderliness and rudeness cannot be called an advanced society by any measure,'' the President said.
He continued, ``In this connection, we have to guard against `infodemics,' a phenomenon in which inaccurate, false information is disseminated, prompting social unrest that spreads like an epidemic.'' The President even claimed that parliamentary democracy is threatened by people's active participation in politics and the development of the Internet. It is proper for him to stress the need to guard against ``infodemics" as there are worries regarding the dark side of the Internet. But it is nonsense for Lee to try to link beef-related Web activism to an information epidemic.
Amid the beef row, President Lee promised to lower himself humbly to listen to public concerns about beef safety. But it seems that he still believes the Internet is a rumormonger spreading false information about U.S. beef and mad cow disease. If he continues to show anachronistic views on the Internet and Web activism, he can never restore his lost public trust.