South Korea

South Korea succeeded in epidemic prevention because it conducted active inspections based on tracking the whereabouts of confirmed patients. However, it should not be forgotten that behind the scenes is an electronic monitoring system that allows our every move to be tracked at any time.

For the last 20 years, Jinbonet has been a consistent and courageous voice in resisting state regulation of the internet that violates people's rights in Korea.

GenderIT.org interviewed Y. K. (Della) Chang, one of the founders of APC member organisation Jinbonet, who was recently appointed as a Personal Information Protection Commissioner in South Korea.

Surveillance is one of the greatest challenges for civil society organisations trying to advance human rights on the internet. In South Korea, victims of communications surveillance have adopted an innovative approach to drawing attention to this issue, by launching a counterattack against state surveillance.

Through the Local Action to Secure Internet Rights project, APC will facilitate national initiatives and support human rights campaigns in ten countries across the globe where opportunity, capacity and momentum already exist.

This statement, supported by APC member in South Korea Jinbonet, observes that NETmundial was “a successful experiment, providing a cornerstone model for making internet public policy decision-making processes more transparent, democratic and cooperative,” despite its shortcomings.

On 30 June Edward Snowden’s leaks revealed that the NSA has tapped 38 embassies and missions in Washington, D.C. including the South Korean Embassy. The government of South Korean needs to take action on behalf of its citizens, who are among the victims of this global scandal. Jinbonet has translated into English its call to action on behalf of civil society in South Korea.

On the 23rd of August 2012, South Korean digital rights organisation Jinbonet won a long struggle. For the last five years, the APC member group fought an internet real name system regulation, ruled unconstitutional by the country’s highest court.