KCC "Complete Internet Ethics Education for 1 Million People Within the Year"

Goal for 2022 but... Early Achievement
Fostering a Healthy Cyber Ethics Culture

2020 Student and Adult Cyberbullying Victimization and Perpetration Rates

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] "We will strive to achieve the national task of providing internet ethics education to 1 million people this year."

The Korea Communications Commission announced on the 7th that it aims to reach 1 million people nationwide with customized 'internet ethics education' and 'cyberbullying prevention education' by the end of the year.

The Korea Communications Commission is promoting a project to foster a healthy cyber ethics culture to prevent the negative effects arising from increased use of digital media in non-face-to-face lifestyles and to create a healthy internet usage environment. This project, initiated in 2009 to prevent cyberbullying and foster a healthy internet culture, has a total operating budget of 5.5 billion KRW.

First, customized internet ethics and cyberbullying prevention education for the entire population will be promoted, and non-face-to-face education courses will be expanded. The national task of "1 million people internet ethics education," targeted from 2017 to 2022, is also planned to be achieved ahead of schedule. Considering changes in the educational environment, on-site education such as instructor dispatch, puppet shows, musical performances, and use of teaching aids will be provided to about 1,800 institutions, along with expanded non-face-to-face education including real-time online education and performances.

Based on the cyberbullying survey conducted this year as a nationally approved statistic, programs to raise awareness of cyberbullying and to prevent and respond to it will also be strengthened. Last year, the proportion of adults and students who reported experiencing cyberbullying such as harassment using messengers called "KakaoTalk bullying" or digital sex crimes decreased by 0.8 percentage points from the previous year to 32.7%. On the other hand, the experience rate among adults increased by 11.1 percentage points compared to before.

A guidebook to strengthen creators' digital ethics capabilities will be produced and distributed, and related education will be piloted. This is because, with the recent expansion of the one-person media market, there have been increasing concerns about negative effects such as the rise of provocative and violent content and the spread of unverified information. A practical guidebook for creators will be produced and distributed, and customized education will be promoted.

Development and pilot education of intelligent information ethics programs will also be promoted. This is due to recent social controversies over users' hateful and discriminatory expressions surrounding AI chatbots. To enhance users' awareness of rights and promote proactive use of intelligent information services such as AI and big data, a virtual experience-based ethics learning program will be developed. Starting with pilot education for elementary and middle school students, AI ethics education for users will be promoted, and from 2022, the education target will be expanded to include service providers.

Alongside this, a nationwide public relations campaign called "Beautiful Internet World" will be operated throughout the year. To raise awareness of the importance of proper internet use and alertness to cyberbullying, promotional content will be produced and distributed in collaboration with planned broadcast programs, webtoon artists, and creators.

Additionally, to encourage public participation, a "Creative Music Festival" and "Creative Content Contest" will be held, and the "Beautiful Internet World (AinSe) Week" will be designated and operated. Award-winning works are posted annually on the AinSe website and used as educational and promotional materials.

Han Sang-hyuk, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, stated, "Internet ethics will become a basic competency for living in the post-COVID-19 era," and added, "We will work hard to achieve the national task of providing internet ethics education to 1 million people this year and to establish a sound internet usage culture."