South Korea mulls Web watch

SOUTH KOREA'S embattled President Lee Myung-Bak is considering web monitoring because his government is getting kicked to death by bloggers.

There has been a wave of tumultuous protest inspired largely by bloggers and it is fast becoming difficult for Myung-Bak's government to cope.

It all started when he thought it would be a wizard wheeze to open the country to meat imports from the US. The bogsphere claimed it would open the country to the dangers of mad-cow disease.

Myung-Bak said that the Internet needed to become a space of trust rather than something venomous.

He was particularly concerned about spam mail sent under the guise of anonymity and the spread of falsehoods and inaccurate information are threatening even rationality and trust.

Myung-Bak admitted that he had been caught unaware by the wave of protests citing mad cow disease fears, and plans to appoint a secretary to study online public opinion.

He has ruled out any intention to censor cyberspace although the Korea Communications Commission said it would consider strengthening the identity verification system introduced last year to curb cyber bullying. µ

L'Inq
AFP