hankyoreh

Twitter, which has become a powerful tool in expanding Internet-based and mobile communication, has put the South Korean government in an awkward position.

On Jan. 18, South Korean Twitter users found a Twitter account for President Lee Myung-bak. Several hundred users registered to “follow” President Lee’s Twitter stream. There is picture of President Lee Myung-bak on the account’s page with links to the Cheong Wa Dae’s (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) website.

The account, however, has been confirmed fake. Kim Chul-kyun, the presidential secretary for a newly-created Internet media public relations position, confirmed during a telephone interview with a reporter from the Hankyoreh, “President Lee never created a Twitter account.” Kim continued, “It was a fake account made by someone who wanted to make a joke.” Kim added, “This was not the first time this occured, in fact there have been several cases of fake Twitter accounts created under President Lee’s name.”

The Cheong Wa Dae has reportedly decided not to investigate who is responsible for creating the fake account. In fact, there is no way for them to investigate. If a person attempts to impersonate the president, they can be punished according to Korean law. In this case, however, the Cheong Wa Dae has no way of finding out who created the account, and Twitter does not fall under the jurisdiction of South Korean law.

Furthermore, the Korean Communication Commission (KCC) decided last year that the Twitter would not be subject to regulations under the “real-name system,” which requires a Web site to confirm users’ personal information such as their real names and resident registration numbers when they want to post comments or upload content.

The National Elections Commission (NEC) is also worried about the fake Twitter account. A high-level NEC official said, “We expect a number of Twitter accounts will be used to promote candidates prior to the June 2 regional elections.” The official added, “It will be difficult for us, however, to prevent individuals from using Twitter accounts to publish false information about candidates.”

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