Public Left Out at Information Technology Awards Ceremony

On April 22, there was controversy at a ceremony commemorating IT Day, where 30 out of 55 awardees were public servants. Of the high-level awards, 7 out of 11 were government employees, giving the impression that balloting was fixed.

Information technologies had a large part in the $14 billion trade surplus in Korea in 1999. Some felt that the awards did not represent the industry's importance, while the government pointed out its major role in developing the field.

One venture company president responded by saying that the government did little to help the IT industry in Korea. Some experts believe that over 50 industry-related laws need revision in order to accomodate developments in the IT business.

Considering the fact that the Internet will be populated by 20 million Koreans in the not too distant future, the government is doing little to invite the public to their own party.

by Choi Ji-young