The state-run Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion oversees the country's polices aimed at reducing the information access gap between different social groups and strengthening international efforts to bridge the digital divide between developed and developing countries. "The information gap is not about whether a person has a computer or whether he or she knows how to use it. While the gap in access to information technology infrastructure was an issue at the beginning of the informatization age, now the problem is more of the differences existing in one's capability to apply the information obtained," said Son Yeon-gi, president of KADO.
Korea is among the world's leading countries in Internet penetration. The Internet penetration rate passed the 70 percent mark at the end of last year, with about 31.6 million people of the country's 44 million people over the age of six saying they access the Internet at least once a month. This accounts for a penetration rate of 70.2 percent.
When applying the standards of the International Telecom Union for penetration rate per population, Korea's rate is adjusted to 65.2 percent. A ITU survey report issued in September last year said Korea's then-Internet penetration rate of 63.3 percent was the second-highest in the world behind Iceland's 67.5 percent.
However, the survey also revealed an alarming disparity between Internet access among separate age groups and social groups.
The Internet penetration rate for people under 20 years of age was 96.2 percent, accounting for about 9.03 million people. The rate was 95.3 percent for people in their 20s and 88.1 percent for people in their 30s. In comparison, the penetration rate was only 62.5 percent for people in their 40s and 31.1 percent for those in their 50s.
"Korea has the highest penetration of broadband Internet services in the world. However, while the level of Korea's info-tech infrastructure is at the world's top, its contribution to economic development is not as significant as other industrialized countries," said Son.
According to figures from the Ministry of Information and Communication, the information and communication technology industry's contribution to gross domestic product climbed from 30.3 percent in 2002 to 41.5 percent in 2003. However, informatization's contribution to economic growth stayed at a mere 10.3 percent in 2003. This figure is far below levels seen in developed countries, such as Japan's 33.3 percent, the United States' 25 percent, Australia's 26.5 percent and England's 19.4 percent.
"Our duty is to focus on spreading the benefits of information technology to the underprivileged, such as the physically disabled, the elderly and low-income families, giving them a better way to communicate with the rest of society and offering opportunities to be productive economically," said Son.
Established in 1984, KADO had been pushing various efforts to correct the imbalance of the information gap. The agency aims to help educate people to gather, process and apply useful information and increase access of information and communication services.
From 1997 to 2004, the agency established 1,000 Regional Information Access Centers across the nation and donated more than 63,000 personal computers in Korea and other countries.
KADO has also been involved in international cooperation efforts by dispatching Korean info-tech exports and helping establish educational facilities in developing countries to share technological advancements.
Last year, the agency was awarded the "Global IT Excellence Award" by the World Information Technology and Service Alliance for its efforts to help bridge the information gap.
Son said the agency plans to focus this year on the online consolidation of public databases, covering more than 30 million cases, to help the country's e-government efforts. The agency will also strengthen its overseas efforts, hoping to expand the cultural "Korean wave" phenomenon to the country's information and communication technology and products. "KADO will not spare any efforts until the day Korea truly becomes an IT powerhouse, and everyone enjoys 'digital well-being,'" said Son.
Quelle: The Korea Herald, 14.06.2005
