For an educated society, I am amazed at how easily led some Koreans can be!

The user verification measure, which had been applied only to Internet portals and user-created content sites with more than 300,000 daily visitors, or to Internet news sites with more than 200,000 daily visitors, will now be expanded to websites with at least 100,000 daily visitors.

If that is the limits of mandatory user verification then there will still be many outlet for anonymous commentary.

As you can see from the types of problems cited, they range from what we Americans would consider to be criminal (death threats) and civil (violations of privacy; posting photos and phone numbers, libel; accusing someone of causing a suicide). But, they also include things that Americans don't consider to be illegal offenses, such as making malicious comments. Yes, it was sad that a young woman resorted to suicide because she couldn't tolerate the hurtful things people said about her after it was revealed she had plastic surgery. Does that mean there is a need to enforce politeness of the Internet? Maybe Michael Jackson and Britney Spears may say so.

The Korean government will be operating on a slippery slope if they start trying to regulate subjective behavior such as etiquette. The foundation of any free democracy is free speech. Biting criticism and sarcasm are some of the most effective forms of that.

OhMyNews published so much distorted BS during the anti-US beef protests it was disgusting. And I find the notion of a "citizen-reporter" an insult to the professsion of journalism. Just because you don't like Lee Myung-bak doesn't make you a "journalist."

I agree the real problem is the media here, and that that should be the main thing the government tries to slap some sense into.

All we have to do is look at China's sad attempts to control the internet…it only makes people wnat it that much more.

In ANY society in these modern ages who attempts to limit what the people can/cannot see, read, or hear, they are only inviting disaster. Look at the Philippines, where any journalist exposing any/many of the corrupt politicans running rampant throughout that country, is soon assasinated…Look at Zimbabwe, Iraq, Russia, etc. This only brings outrage to the populace.

It is the people in charge that are afraid, thus stupid moves to control thought. Never has worked…never will work…instead they should focus their efforts at providing the "Truth" to the people and letting the people make their choices…sadly, Koreans have ben brainwashed by Pro-North agitators for so long, and fooled by their own corrupt leaders…that they have become almost incapable of "Free Will." The S. Korean government, as all governments throughout the world, need to get pro-active on cyber warfare and start doing battle for the virtual "Hearts & Minds" but by doing it openly and honestly.