Challenges for e-governance: protests from civil society on the protection of privacy in e-government in Korea
| Author | Whasun Jho |
| Published date | 01 March 2005 |
| Date | 01 March 2005 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0020852305051690 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Challenges for e-governance: protests from civil society on
the protection of privacy in e-government in Korea
Whasun Jho
Abstract
This article analyzes the factors that caused recent conflicts between the Korean
government and civil society over e-government initiatives and draws implications
for e-governance. The disputes over the government’s digitalization initiatives in
Korea, for example the conflicts over the electronic education system and the
national electronic ID card, show that the government in Korea as in other coun-
tries has faced fierce opposition from citizens and suffered major setbacks in pur-
suing its ICT projects. This article argues that the current cases in Korean society
should be understood from a new perspective, one which emphasizes the inter-
action between the technical standard and the social standard. It shows that the
gaps between technical standards, which idealize efficiency, and social standards,
which weigh e-privacy as supreme, breed conflict. Finally, the research draws
some implications of the analysis for e-governance and democracy.
Introduction
There are two main driving forces behind this research: (1) to analyze the factors that
caused the recent conflicts between the Korean government and civil society over
electronic government (e-government) initiatives; and (2) to draw implications for e-
governance.
The introduction of information and communication technologies (ICT) into public
administration has led many observers to believe that e-government could bring
about the realization of democracy through more direct forms of citizen involvement
and make the administration more transparent through open electronic service deliv-
ery. However, the public administration’s rapid adaptation to global networks and
technological innovation has raised many outstanding concerns from civil society over
Whasun Jho is Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy and Information Technology, Seoul
National University of Technology, Seoul, Korea.
Copyright © 2005 IIAS, SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi)
Vol 71(1):151–166 [DOI:10.1177/0020852305051690]
International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
the protection of their privacy1and personal data and has brought into focus the
possibility of the rise of ‘Big Brother’. That is, as administrative procedures are increas-
ingly ‘online’, issues around the protection of privacy arise with regard to ICT’s real
contribution to open government and democracy. The recent disputes over the
government’s digitalization initiatives, for example the conflicts over the NEIS
(National Education Information System) and the national electronic ID card in Korea,
show that the government in Korea, as well as in other countries,2has faced fierce
opposition from citizens and associations and suffered major setbacks in finding
support from citizens for the government ICT projects. The protection of personal
information3has become an emerging issue for the networked and digitalized
administration. Hence, the answers to the following question need to be explored if
the government is to win the support of civil society in implementing ICT into admin-
istrative processes. What are the root causes for the recent disputes over the issues
of personal data protection?
The discussion will focus on three aspects. First, after reviewing the existing litera-
ture on the relationship between the rise of the internet and democracy, the research
introduces the framework that resides throughout the analysis. This article argues
that the current cases in Korean society should be approached from a perspective
emphasizing the interaction and interplay between the technical standard, which is
the value-free logic of technical development, and the social standard, which is value-
laden by interested parties who surround ICT development. Second, it introduces
cases and then analyzes the factors that cause conflict between the government and
civil society over the e-government initiatives. It focuses on the adaptation to and
relationship between government and society in the development of IT in Korea,
revealing a growing gap between the technical and social standards. Third, the
research draws some implications from the analysis for e-governance and dem-
ocracy. My research cautions against expanding the use of ICT in administrative
processes and suggests ways to create governance and rules for protecting dem-
ocracy and privacy in cyberspace.
Theoretical discussions and analytical framework
The Internet as a democratizing force
The appearance of the Internet as one of the major means of communication in
recent years has promoted studies on how new phenomena such as the formation
of public opinion and the creation of new discourses affect existing institutions and
mass democracy. On the one hand, breakthroughs in IT have helped to inspire
hopes of positively correlating the development of the Internet with a deepening of
democracy due to increasing citizen participation in the political arena. The Internet,
by strengthening the institutions of civic society and widening the opportunities for
information communication and political participation in the public sphere, has been
regarded as a new device for changing the established power. Scholars expect the
internet to help restore public confidence by allowing for decreased costs and
barriers to political participation (Bonchek, 1997: 76) and the devolution of power to
community organizations (Barber, 1999). Electronic voting, bulletin board systems,
152 International Review of Administrative Sciences 71(1)
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