Broadband penetration and participatory politics: South Korea case

This paper examines the potential impact of the Internet on the political process in a young democracy. Roh Moo-hyun´s dramatic victory on December 19, 2002 represents a major watershed in modern day South Korean politics. The Internet enabled this upset victory. The Internet made available alternative sources of political information unfiltered by the conservative and often biased mass media. Citizens distributed worldwide could express their support for Roh Moo-hyun in the public forums on his official site and many other news and discussion sites. Rohsamo, a group of people who support Roh Moo-hyun, became the focal organizing structure around which the efforts of individual supporters were coordinated. In this paper, we draw on primary and secondary data sources and relate broadband penetration to political participation. We suggest that Roh´s election would not have been possible had it not been for the nationwide broadband infrastructure and low costs for household high-speed Internet access. South Korea´s broadband penetration rate is four times higher than the United States, 60 times higher than the United Kingdom and twice that of Canada. As the world´s leader in broadband penetration and Internet usage, the South Korean case illustrates the potential impact of widespread Internet access on the democratization process in developing countries.