A Manifesto for Digital Equity

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Is South Korea Truly a "Digital Powerhouse"?

          Exposing the Bureaucratic Hypocrisy Blocking Innovation

 

The government pours billions into unused Wi-Fi for "Showcase Administration" while demanding exorbitant fees from actual rural innovators.

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By Sotong-K (Representative Director, AITOPIA-FSN)

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South Korea proudly proclaims itself a "Digital Platform Government" dedicated to preventing local extinction. However, for innovators on the ground, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) acts not as a supporter, but as a spokesperson for telecom monopolies.

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1. The "Parrot" Response: Protecting Monopolies over Public Welfare For the AITOPIA-FSN project (an AI-based rural ecosystem), high-speed internet is essential. Yet, KT demanded an exorbitant installation fee of over $11,000 USD (15 million KRW), citing "profitability."

 When I appealed to the MSIT, they merely parroted KT’s terms:

 "The government only supports up to 200 meters. You must pay the rest."

 This mechanical response ignores the reality of rural innovation.

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2. The Absurd Irony: Wasted Taxes vs. Blocked Innovation

 

  Here lies a critical contradiction:

• Showcase Administration: The government spends astronomical taxes installing public Wi-Fi in senior centers nationwide to inflate "Digital New Deal" statistics. In reality, these expensive connections are often unused or limited to passive TV watching.

• The Reality:

  • For "Showcase" stats: Free installation, regardless of actual usage.

  • For real innovators: A blocking paywall of $11,000.
     

3. Conclusion: A Betrayal of the Digital Future

  If the government truly wants to foster a digital economy, it must stop hiding behind regulations.     Charging innovators for essential infrastructure while wasting budgets on "display-only" facilities is   a dereliction of duty.

 

  We refuse to accept this regression.

AITOPIA-FSN will continue to fight against this bureaucratic wall

until true digital equity is achieved.