Saturday, September 16, 2006

Asia Pulse reports this week that the South Korean authorities intend to
unilaterally block Internet access of Koreans to some 128 "online gambling
related" sites this year."As of the end of August, we have blocked local
peoples' access to such illegal gambling sites which operate their servers
overseas and target Korean customers," Information and Communication
Minister Rho Jun-hyong told a press conference in Seoul. The action is
intended to prevent local gambling companies from moving their servers
overseas to continue business amid the government's probe into offline
gambling shops, Rho said. Last month, prosecutors launched an investigation
into operators of a video arcade game on suspicions of illegally promoting
gambling and giving bribes to government officials in return for licenses
and favors. "We will continue our cooperation with Internet service
providers and portal companies and ask for them to keep a watch on such
illegal gambling sites," Rho said. Gambling is illegal in South Korea, with
the exception of a land casino in Kangwon Province in the east of the
country, but the arcade gambling operators have avoided the government's
regulations by providing gift certificates to winners instead of cash.

A ministry official said it has already blocked access to an additional 53
online gambling sites over the past few weeks.

South Korea leads the world in Internet penetration rates with around one
out of every four people having access to high-speed Internet. South Koreans
spend an average of 47.2 hours per month in cyberspace, the third highest
time spent online following Israel and Finland, according to ministry data.