hankyoreh

Korea University professor Kim Gi-chang is an "Internet minority." He doesn't use Windows and Internet Explorer software by Microsoft to get online, instead choosing the Linux operating system and Firefox as his browser.

His shunning of Microsoft products puts him with less than 1 percent of South Korea's Internet users

While Kim decided to use open-source programs like Linux and Firefox because they are easy to use and are open to anonymous users, the choice has brought him a number of inconveniences.

When trying to access Web sites of South Korean financial companies and government agencies with Linux and Firefox on December 12, Kim was unable to be granted online authentication and could not access other public services. However, Kim could use the Web sites of the U.S. State Department and the British Foreign Ministry without facing the same issue.

"In the U.S., Britain, and France, there is no inconvenience faced by Internet users that don't employ Microsoft's software," Kim said. In the case of Denmark, the government requires by law that public Web sites, such as online tax payment or bank sites, to not discriminate by computer operating system and Internet browser, he said.

However, the South Korean government designs its Web sites based on only Microsoft's software. One of the government's Web sites even carries a warning: 'This page is for use through Internet Explorer.' Kim Yeong-hong, a senior official at a civic group, said, "Because Web sites are designed with a certain company's monopolistic software in mind, Internet users who don't use the software are banned from accessing the Web sites."

In response to the problem, a group of Internet users that do not employ Microsoft software plans to file a lawsuit against the government. The group is now seeking plaintiffs for the case on the Web at open.unfix.net; so far, 84 people have expressed willingness to join the lawsuit, anticipated to be filed early next year.

Gwon Hyeong-rok, a government official, said, "While the government is making efforts to improve the matter, it takes time because of the money involved."

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