back to article South Korean prez turns on the internet

South Korean president Lee Myung-bek is seeking to crack down on the internet community which has helped intensify and focus criticism of his unpopular government, by introducing a Cyber Defamation Law. Korea's online community has railed against Myung-bek over such issues as renewed imports of US beef, the sovereignty of the …

COMMENTS

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  1. Pete
    Joke

    Well I never

    I didn't know anyone had turned it off. Where's the switch then?

  2. dervheid
    Stop

    Soon to be...

    adopted here, no doubt.

  3. James

    Infodemics ??

    "The government wants action to stop "infodemics" - false stories which spread rapidly via websites and blogs." and what about TV, radio and newspapers?

    Almost sounds like a good idea until you realise that 99% of our medias output would be stopped by this type of restriction.

    And, surely, this is what the internet is all about - allowing the largest number of idiots (sorry, users) to spread the maximum amount of disinformation in the shortest possible time !! No other reason for the rise of Wikipedia ....

  4. TMISv2

    Well governments, if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear eh?

    Oh Noez! Free Speech, let's stamp that right out... Can't have people questioning authority willy-nilly now can we?

  5. Tony

    @ Pete

    Pete

    http://www.turnofftheinternet.com/

    "Snigger"

  6. Tom Chiverton
    Stop

    goodluckwiththat

    "force publishers to get real name registrations from anyone who wishes to comment on a story or in a forum"

    Well, that wont fail miserably then.

  7. Matt

    Free Speech

    I think it's already been established that free speech isn't a license to defame. We used to have a free press in the UK, but there are and were libel laws.

    I can't see why the Internet should be an exception from this. Of course the trick is to make sure the government doesn't use it as an excuse for stifling criticism.

  8. Pete
    Happy

    @ Tony

    Wow - thank you! Firefox is blocking the popup created by pushing the button though and I'm strangely nervous about unblocking it. I mean, what if it actually works? Wouldn't it upset a lot of people? Do you happen to know of the location of the button to switch it back on again (obviously it exists as the South Korean president used it) - that way I can have one finger on that button while I switch the internet off (if I switch it off and on quickly enough then hopefully no-one will notice) . Ah, the power!

  9. Tony

    @Pete

    Just for you - once you close the page, the Internet comes back on again!

    http://www.turnofftheinternet.com/shutdown.html

    The power indeed!!!!!!

  10. dervheid
    Pirate

    Like I said Matt...

    Soon to be adopted here, no doubt.

    Welcome to the NuLabourian Empire. Resistance is... just pointless, really.

  11. Wokstation

    I'm sorry, El Reg, did you say...

    ...North Korea?

    No?

    Oh...

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    @ Pete

    http://preview.tinyurl.com/6jhx97

  13. Pete
    Happy

    @ Tony and Anonymous Coward

    A great big thank you for filling my day with megalomaniac thoughts and humour!

  14. Norman Bowring

    @ James

    ""The government wants action to stop "infodemics" - false stories which spread rapidly via websites and blogs." and what about TV, radio and newspapers?

    Almost sounds like a good idea until you realise that 99% of our medias output would be stopped by this type of restriction."

    But that 99% figure doesn't hold true in Korea. When I was there last from December 2006 to March of this year, one of the things I most enjoyed was the fact that newspapers (English editions of the local dailies) were extremely good. They were well written (by Koreans!) and generally followed the tried and true (but now sadly lacking in UK, US & Cdn publications) format of:

    - X, the CEO of Y Co. Ltd. was arrested late yesterday for (insert misdemeanour of choice).

    - The prosecutor said "(details of whatever)" and that he felt sure that the courts would agree.

    - When interviewed by our man on the scene, a spokesman for Y Co. said that there were aspects of the case (aspects A, B & C) that the prosecution had failed to appreciate and that "When they are explained in court we are confident that our CEO will be completely exonerated."

    - The trial is expected to start next ***.

    They still put forth the simple facts and one can almost read, as though it was tacked on to the end of the piece, "Those are the facts reader, make of them what you will."

    And that's all I ever wanted (and am now becoming desperate for!) from a newspaper or other media.

    They do have editorial pages which are properly used to express opinions, but the local news section of the paper is not contaminated by the snide and scarcely hidden opinions of the journalist who wrote the article. It was a delightfully refreshing experience - which I miss!

    (When I want a journalist's opinion, I'll tell him what it is!)

  15. Norman Bowring

    @ James

    But I do agree entirely with your comments on what the internet is all about and the only reason for the rise of the wikipidiots!

  16. Adam White

    Will these guys be the first to go?

    http://english.cpb.or.kr/user/bbs/code02_detail.php?av_jbno=2006071800002

    If so it would be a pity, although they haven't updated in a while.

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