The arrest of a wildly popular Internet financial pundit, better known as ``Minerva," is raising new questions about Korea's Internet culture and pitfalls of anonymous online postings.
Last Thursday, Korean authorities announced that they arrested a 31-year old man named Park Dae-sung on charges that he had spread false information online, including making allegations that Korea's won currency was in danger of collapsing.
But with the arrest last week, local Korean media are asking how a single individual armed with Internet access can wield so much influence in society and attract so much recognition within the span of a few months.
One newspaper report asked over the weekend: ``Could this Minerva have been possible if Internet postings were not anonymous? What if he was forced to make his commentaries with his actual identity for all to see?"
``This Minerva phenomenon was possible only because Korea's Internet allowed for and even nurtured anonymous writings and commentaries on the Web," according to the report.
Observers note that Korea's online discussion culture is radically different from that of the more traditional means of communication. Korea's Internet users, ``netizens," can avoid using their real names when posting commentaries and participating in online discussion forums. And this fosters an environment where there is little accountability and personal attacks and outlandish claims are commonplace, according to local reports.
Newspaper reports also noted a similarity between the ``Minerva" phenomenon and what had occurred at the ``Agora" talk forum during the height of the anti-U.S. beef protest movement last summer. Reports noted that, in both instances, a few unnamed Internet users were allowed to wield major influence on the Internet community, exploiting the Web's unique characteristics.
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