The Marmot’s Hole

As could be expected, five members of a North Korean spy ring have been caught and are now to be prosecuted. Per the Joongang Ilbo:

Prosecutors said yesterday that a South Korean espionage group had received instructions from North Korea by e-mail and infiltrated the far-left Democratic Labor Party and liberal civic groups to generate anti-American sentiment here.

During this tale of spying, there is another quiet but vital bit of politics being played regarding the issue of media control and who controls it in South Korea. This is a vital issue since whomever controls or influences the media, controls what is read or not read and can have a significant influence upon public opinion and elections. One can not but help remember that in many repressive countries, the press is tightly controlled — just like in North Korea and China.

It is not a coincidence that Chang Min-ho, the head of the spy ring dubbed Il-shim-huway, is not simply another overseas Korean suspected of being a spy. Since entering the country in 1993 immediately after joining North Korea’s Workers’ Party, Chang formed lines of personal contact while working as a department manager at what is now the Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He then cemented his foothold as a successful businessman in the IT industry serving, among others, as president of Game TV. He was so firmly established that he was among the list of some 300 people the ruling camp under the Kim Dae-jung administration considered for recruitment ahead of the 2000 presidential election. Last year, he became the CEO of a firm in which the second largest shareholder of a major terrestrial broadcaster invested . . . (from the Chosun Ilbo).

As to Mr. Chang’s interest in IT and broadcasting, Just now — during all this spy mess — a battle over who controls the media in Korea is brewing in an attempt to unite all communication authorities under one roof. This new “super-committee” is an attempt to deal with “media convergence”, i.e., internet-based DMB video broadcasting and games that can be viewed or played on one’s handphone (gameboy/camera/PIM). Such is becoming more common and DMB video content that is streamed online instead of through regular television could become just as common as watching a television. While this unification seems like an innocent enough proposal, it does mean that:

The committee will handle all the functions of the Korean Broadcasting Commission, including the appointments to boards of public broadcasters such the Korean Broadcasting System. It will plan broadcasting, information and communications networks, authorize private entrants to the business and oversee programming and advertising. It will also have disciplinary functions and mediate industry disputes. Until a new government postal agency is set up, the official said, the new committee will also oversee that service.
The new entity, described only in general terms, would probably be huge, absorbing about 500 Information Ministry employees and another 200 or so from the broadcasting commission. At least temporarily, it will oversee 30,000 postal employees.
The new body will have one chief commissioner and four other members, all to be appointed by the president, the official said. The chief will be subject to National Assembly scrutiny but not approval, much as line government ministers are now. The official said there is no plan to give political parties the right to name any of the committee members, a common practice at many other government commissions.

This idea has now met opposition since the Korean Broadcasting Commission, a state organization that oversees broadcasting affairs, has expressed concerns that the launch of a super-committee would “damage the independence of broadcasting,”. One can only imagine if someone like the current president were allowed to install such a body and where that might lead to. One should only think back as to the significant impact that networking through the internet had upon the last presidential election in South Korea and its role in mobilizing votes for Roh Moo Hyun, et.al. Per Kim Shin Dong, an associate professor of communication at Hallym University, Korea, and Director for the iCat Institute:

The South Korean presidential election in December 2002 marked another significant advancement in the country’s ongoing process of democratisation, which began in the mid-1980s. Newly elected president Roh Moo-hyun enjoyed widespread popular support encouraged by volunteers organising themselves using the internet other new technologies. The main supporters’ group called itself Nosamo, which literally means ‘people who love Roh Moo-hyun’.

Roh’s opponent, Lee Hoe-chang, had long enjoyed solid support from most of the conservative newspapers that dominate the nation’s media. However, Nosamo’s active campaign successfully attracted media attention and turned public support towards Roh Moo-hyun.

Alternative information channels on the web, such as Ohmynews and Pressian, proved to be an effective counter balance to mainstream journalism.

On polling day, Nosamo members and young supporters of Roh launched an extensive mobile phone campaign encouraging their friends to come out and cast votes. It was widely accepted, after the election, that Roh’s victory owed much to the use of new media.

Considering such, imagine a government, “super-committee” staffed with pro-Kim Jong Il personnel, disguised as pro-nationalists and their impact upon South Korea.

This is a thought . . .