WEB PORTALS AID "SMART MOB," STYMIE KOREAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SEOUL 001354 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KS KN SUBJECT: WEB PORTALS AID "SMART MOB," STYMIE KOREAN GOVERNMENT ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: During the ongoing protests about U.S. beef, new means of disseminating information and networking internet users created what is being called a "smart mob." These new capabilities allowed protestors to use their cellphones to instantaneously upload video, pictures, and information to the web. Particularly younger Koreans used these online forums to learn about the issues, watch the protests, spread rumors and misinformation about government policies, and share tactical information about police deployments and blockades. Websites like DAUM Agora, Afreeca Broadcasts, and the Naver Portal demonstrated their influence in the recent candlelight protests by encouraging mass participation and broadcasting from the protest scene. These news sources -- thought by many to be more reliable because they are "independent" -- are the primary source of information for young Koreans, who are unlikely to read print media and tend not to watch television news. Government efforts to hold portals responsible for misinformation are still in the formative stages but are already being derided as state interference in freedom of the press. End Summary. -------------- The Features of New Media -------------- ¶2. (SBU) New internet capabilities in Korea have enabled a new level of interconnectivity and information sharing among the Korean youth, in particular. Through these sites, individuals can post reports on blogs and online discussion boards and broadcast live events such as the recent candlelight vigils. The influence of the new type of media is possible due to widespread public access to high-speed internet and the active participation of Korean internet users in online activities. (NOTE: According to OECD statistics, 94 percent of Korean households use the internet. END NOTE.) On June 19, for example, within just 30 minutes of President Lee's special press conference, more than 2,000 responses (more than 1 per second) were posted on DAUM Agora, the largest online discussion board. Such prevalent use of online media had a significant influence on public criticism about President Lee Myung-bak, especially among those in their teens to early 30s. ¶3. (SBU) This user created content (UCC),lacking journalistic rigor, reported on supposed flaws in the beef negotiations and spread other information about the safety of U.S. beef -- some of it fact, but most of it fiction. These users also reported on events as they were happening; the reports swiftly circulated through the tens of thousands of users who were watching the broadcasts or reading the reports from a home computer, internet cafe or cell phone. This ability enabled protesters to evade police and thwart blockade attempts, giving rise to the "smart mob" moniker. Netizens seemed to unquestioningly accept such information and scorned traditional print media, which protesters alleged had been co-opted by the government. -------------- DAUM Agora: Campaign Starter -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Korea's second largest web portal, Daum, hosts an online forum called Agora on which netizens can discuss a wide range of topics. Agora was instrumental in initiating the candlelight vigils and the boycott of the mainstream daily newspapers for their criticism of the protests and support for the beef imports. Agora users have also posted the names and telephone numbers of the firms that buy advertising space in the newspapers, encouraging citizens to call the firms in protest and start boycotts. In early July the Korea Communication Standards Commission ruled that the boycott threats were illegal, and Daum started removing postings promoting such boycott campaigns. Subsequently, on July 7, Daum announced that it would no longer host content from Korea's three largest newspapers, which have accused the portal of routinely editing news stories and making value judgments about content. SEOUL 00001354 002 OF 003 ¶5. (SBU) Agora's appeal stems from its real-time capabilities, a large audience, and policy focus. During the weekly broadcast of a political affairs television show called the "100 Minute Discussion," Agora simultaneously hosts an online discussion with Korean citizens voicing opinions and commenting on the actual program. The most heated discussions in recent weeks centered on the beef imports, candlelight protests, and criticisms of Lee Myung-bak. In the past months, Agora's content has become increasingly emotional, and postings that attempt to support Lee Myung-bak, the mainstream print media, or abandonment of renegotiation demands receive open contempt and abusive language. Metrix, an online survey agency, conducted an analysis of all messages posted on Agora from April 1, 2008 until June 18, 2008. They found that 71 percent of all articles posted on the site were written by 10 percent of users. Further, of the top ten users, who are responsible for over 21,000 posts, seven are anti-government. These findings seem to imply that rather than a mass, collective opinion, the site is dominated by a few. -------------- Afreeca: Live Candlelight Vigils -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Afreeca is an online television portal through which users can view programs that are broadcast live by video jockeys (VJs). Broadcasts vary from Premier League Soccer, animation, movies, and music depending on the tastes of the broadcaster. Afreeca played a prominent role in broadcasting and advertising the mass candlelight vigils; dozens of VJs broadcast the protests live from the scene using their cell phones. From May 25 to June 1, as many as 4 million people watched the protests on Afreeca with 1.2 million views on June 1 alone. The numbers are likely to have skyrocketed during early June when the protests reached their height. Its appeal is derived from the on-the-scene feature, unlimited access, and lack of censorship. ¶7. (SBU) The live broadcasts are a means for two-way communication -- users can type their opinions in the chatting window while watching the reports, and broadcasters are then able to focus their reports on what the viewers want. Thus, Afreeca has become an interactive broadcast between viewers and reporters, a capability that is impossible for most television media. There is no censorship of the site, enabling the spread of false information. On May 7, it was discovered that users were posting old footage of riots and police action and passing it off as images of the current protest. Afreeca is considered to be free from any ideology -- broadcasters report the scene as neutral citizen reporters -- but its open and unrestricted user base combined with a complete lack of editorial intervention enable participants to advance their own social agendas. -------------- Naver: "Dinosaur Portal," Main Source of News -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Naver is the largest Korean internet portal which boasts 16 million daily visitors (about 30 percent of the population) and an internet-search market share of approximately 70 percent. More than 60 percent of Korean internet users select Naver as their home page. Naver provides news reports from various media including the conservative mainstream newspapers as well as the more liberal Oh My News, Hankyoreh, and Kyunghyang, which support the protests and criticize the negotiations. People could compare stories from different media through Naver's grouping of articles on hot issues. Until recently, Naver had the ability to position news articles, control their size, and change the headings to fit the webpage. The portal announced on July 1, however, that it would stop editing articles posted on its main page and leave the news selection to the media. ¶9. (SBU) Naver does not provide an open forum to discuss controversial issues and has come under criticism in the past SEOUL 00001354 003 OF 003 two months for excluding candlelight vigil reports from its news page until early June. Consequently, Naver has lost much of its user base and popularity to Daum Agora. Naver is seeking to create an open portal option for the website by the end of this year to address the complaints. -------------- Direct Democracy, "Videocracy?" -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Some pundits predicted that these new portals would create the possibility of a direct democracy, or a "videocracy," that would complement the current "indirect" democracy. The rise of this new media has brought politically aloof citizens to discussion boards. A professor at Sung Kyung Kwan University, Sung Dong-kyu claimed, "the rise of (these portals) widened the scale of democracy -- anyone can participate -- and the strengthened social network produces new social agendas." This mass media is completely open to abuse, however. Unverified reports and rumors are easily spread. False reports of police rapes and murders appeared on these sites and government officials seem to be unsure of how to squelch this kind of reporting. The National Police Agency is in the process of creating an "internet monitoring team" in charge of watching public opinion online and setting false rumors straight. The ROKG has also taken steps to strengthen the "real-name use system," to discourage users from hiding behind aliases when posting rumors. The ROKG has already come under heavy criticism for this involvement in the "free" media. Claims of government suppression and infiltration of the sites are creating huge backlash and hampering the already limited action. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The degree of Korea's interconnectivity combined with a significant level of public distrust in both the government and in mainstream, generally conservative news sources combined to create an internet maelstrom that incited and fueled the protests against U.S. beef. Even more disturbing than the administration's inability to manage its public image is the significant portion of the Korean population who believed these online stories without questioning origin, motivation, or veracity. Though the protests have ebbed, the challenge has just begun for the Lee Administration, which now has to find a way to reduce the influence of this "smart mob" without trampling on the right of free speech. ¶12. (U) This report was drafted by POL Summer Intern Jin-kyu Lee. VERSHBOW