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Thank you Grant Kippen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for this great article on what broadband online campaigning is all about. (Grant will be presenting on e-democracy an upcoming e-gov conference in Ottawa in February <http://www.conferenceboard.ca/conf/feb03/pdf/03egovernment.pdf>.) Note: To join the the Democracies Online - Korea sub-list, send an e- mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] While in South Korea last May, I got the sense that the high level of broadband connectivity would demonstrate what the "always on" Internet will mean for politics and governance. According to eMarketer, in South Korea <http://www.info-edge.com/samples/EM- 2072sam.pdf> only 7 percent of Korean households are stuck being "modem people" while 51.7% of all households have broadband Internet. In the U.S. while 52.3% of households are online, only 10.4% have at- home broadband. (My call for Universal Basic Broadband in Minnesota <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mn-wired/message/161> references S. Korea.) Well the verdict is in (see below) ... the South Korean elections were transformed by the use of the Internet. When the Internet is part of the daily home life of most citizens with nothing more than the simple move of a mouse, things will happen. When the total amount of time online goes up (notice all the Korean web sites on Alexa's Top 500 <http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_500?> many users will add a bit more politics and news to their online menu. Check out their new president's campaign web site <http://www.knowhow.or.kr>. It starts with a pop up VIDEO! According to Alexa it is 486th most popular website in the world. The White House comes in at 1,991 even with BarneyCam <http://www.whitehouse.gov/holiday/>. Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire http://www.e-democracy.org/do Related: Voters are just a click away in S.Korean election http://www.onnurynet.co.kr/press/link-1218.php http://asia.cnn.com/2002/TECH/12/18/skorea.elections/ From: http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/ArticleNews/gtnews/TGAM/2002123 0/UNETTN In South Korea, it's the mouse that roars New breed of politician taps the country's love affair with high tech, GEOFFREY YORK writes GEOFFREY YORK Monday, December 30, 2002 SEOUL -- The winning candidate in last week's South Korean presidential election had little need for mass rallies or traditional campaign tactics. When Roh Moo-hyun's organizers wanted supporters to vote on election day, they simply pressed a few computer keys. Text messages flashed to the cellphones of almost 800,000 people, urging them to go to the polls. During his campaign, millions of voters absorbed Mr. Roh's message from Internet sites that featured video clips of the candidate and audio broadcasts by disc jockeys and rock stars. Half a million visitors logged on to his main Web site every day to donate money or obtain campaign updates. More than 7,000 voters a day sent him e- mails with policy ideas. Internet chat groups buzzed with debate on the election. South Koreans call it "digital democracy" and "e-politics," and they have become the world's leaders in cyberspace campaigning. Their high- tech boom has unleashed a new form of grassroots participation by millions of "Netizens" who exploit the latest information technology to bypass the once-dominant party machines of the old system. With the world's highest penetration of high-speed and mobile Internet services, South Korea is at the cutting edge of technology that is transforming the political system, making it more open and democratic. It could be a preview of the shape of Western democracy. ... clip ... But young voters admired the lawyer for his integrity and his image as an independent outsider, and they formed an Internet fan club to promote his future. The fan club, with 70,000 members, helped launch what has been called "the Roh typhoon." Its energetic activism was crucial to Mr. Roh's triumph in last spring's primaries, when he shocked most observers by capturing the presidential nomination of the ruling party. And it was a crucial factor in his narrow victory last week. ... clip ... Since most South Koreans live in densely populated urban high-rises, it was relatively easy to do the wiring. The Internet has become the most popular way of organizing street rallies, political and otherwise -- including that of the estimated seven million South Koreans who swarmed into the streets after the stunning success of their national soccer team in last summer's World Cup. More recently, Internet activists mobilized massive anti-American protests across the country after two girls were accidentally killed by U.S. troops. ... clip ... During the election campaign, regulators shut down some Internet sites for spreading false rumours, conducting illegal polls, or other violations of election rules. The newly elected Mr. Roh, however, is promising to use the Internet to make the government more open and transparent. ^ ^ ^ ^ Steven L. Clift - W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis - - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667 USA - - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE *** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage *** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
