SOUTH KOREA: South Korean Political Parties Using Internet Animated Cartoons To Attract Young Voters In Presidential Election Campaign

Record ID: 346836

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: South Korean Political Parties Using Internet Animated Cartoons To Attract Young Voters In Presidential Election Campaign
  • Date: 16th December 2002
  • Summary: (L!3) SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (RECENT) (REUTERS) SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR KANG WON-TAEK AT SOONGSIL UNIVERSITY SAYING: "Television is play (plays) a very crucial role in attracting voters, instead of mass rallies. That's one difference in terms of campaigning. The other one could be related to the use of Internet. Korea is - world-wide -- has a high-level of Interne
  • Embargoed: 31st December 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: Communications,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAE744R3A14A9DQJJJNCYV7GSLD
  • Story Text: South Korea's presidential candidates are turning to the Internet to target the crucial group of young voters in the world's most wired country.
    Campaigners for the South Korean presidential hopefuls in Thursday's (December 19) election to choose a successor to President Kim Dae-jung are hitting the mouse - clicking and canvassing for voters on the Internet.
    South Korea, already the world's most wired country with a fifth of the 48 million population using high-speed Internet connections, aims to offer broadband access to all households by 2005. Some 65 percent of them enjoy broadband services now.
    And statistics show that South Koreans spend more time in front of computers than watching television, clicking the mouse to trade shares, order pizza, buy clothes or even consult a doctor.
    Chun Ho-sun, head of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party's online campaigning team, said the Internet has been a good tool of reaching out to voters in the wired nation.
    "Our biggest objective was to develop a campaign method of listening to netizens through the Internet -- which has been very meaningful," he said.
    "Recently we have more than 400,000 daily visitors. That means if we exclude the number of visitors who come to the homepage more than twice a day, the number of new visitors is about 200,000," he said of the number of people visiting ruling party candidate Roh Moo-hyun's Web site.
    Chun said his team had 30 online campaigners, a tenth of the party's main campaign staff. There were only three or four during the 1997 presidential election.
    And this is also proving to be a much better method to reach out to the crucial group of young voters, compared to holding election rallies where campaigners have to brave wintry weather in the streets.
    "Without the Internet, some voters have difficulties to have a direct access to candidates. In that sense, the Internet is a very important tool to check and share information on candidates or parties. So it is desirable,"
    said 26-year-old Lim Hyon-soo.
    "Young people like to lead a comfortable lives. So they would rather use the Internet at home than attending rallies,"
    said 21-year-old Kim Eun-jong.
    Besides the Internet, candidates have also splashed out the cash for television commercials and programmes. And for some it's about getting the best from the two media.
    Lee Hoi-chang, presidential candidate of the opposition Grand National Party, who narrowly lost the last presidential election to Kim, receives advice from Internet surfers on what to wear and how to behave when appearing on TV programmes.
    And political analysts see the use of the Internet and television as the key difference between this year's presidential election and the one in 1997.
    "Television is play (plays) a very crucial role in attracting voters, instead of mass rallies. That's one difference in terms of campaigning. The other one could be related to the use of Internet -- Korea is world-wide -- has a high-level of Internet users," said Professor Kang Won-Taek of Soongsil University.
    South Korean's 35 million voters go to the polls on Thursday to elect a successor to President Kim Dae-jung, who is constitutionally barred from a second term.
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