Posted on 05/31/2010 8:10:52 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
South Korean police are probing leaflets and Internet messages spreading rumours of imminent war and questioning an investigation into the sinking of a naval vessel which they say could affect Wednesday's local elections.
WORLD | SOUTH KOREA
The ship sinking has become the top campaign issue, with the liberal opposition accusing President Lee Myung-bak of provoking tension after a decade of warming ties with reclusive and impoverished North Korea.
But polls showed Lee's uncompromising stand against the North has helped keep support ratings for him near the 50 percent mark in recent weeks.
Lee has vowed to hold North Korea accountable after a team of investigators found Pyongyang was behind the torpedo attack on the corvette Cheonan in March, killing 46 seamen.
North Korea has denied responsibility and accused Lee of fabricating the attack for political gain.
"We are not going to tolerate activities that harm public interest and undermine national integrity through the spread of false information," Seoul police commissioner Cho Hyun-oh said in a message to officers, vowing to punish offenders.
The crackdown on Internet rumor mongering is likely to resurrect a frequent opposition complaint that the government is trampling on democracy and free speech.
Police are on their highest security alert ahead of Wednesday's voting to choose nearly 4,000 mayors, governors and local representatives, seen as a gauge of support for Lee and his ruling Grand National Party.
Lee is trying to avoid a repeat of massive protests that consumed the first months of his term in 2008 when he failed to contain the spread of information on television and the Internet that experts said hugely exaggerated the health risks of eating U.S. beef amid a mad cow disease scare.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
ping
There are also home-grown pro-North elements in S. Korea. They are busy spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation on S. Korean Internet, fishing for gullible takers. They have been always around, but recently their activities jumped dramatically. It jumped several fold. Never seen such intense activities in the past. This ming-boggling level of activities could be also the reflection of panic and desperation.
Interesting news.
Thank you for the ping Jet Jaguar.
Kind of reminds you of the liberals here in the States during Vietnam.
When I was there 35 years ago, we estimated 10,000 infiltrators from the North.
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