With everyone seeing South Korea as the better half compared to North Korea it is somewhat shocking to hear that they aren't innocent when it comes to internet censorship. OpenNet Initiative states,
"South Korea is one of the most connected countries and most penetrated broadband markets in the world: by 2010, more than 81 percent of citizens had access to the Internet, and more than 16 million people subscribed to broadband service."
According to the research firm Akamai in 2013 the U.S. had an internet speed just under 10 Mbps whereas South Koreas boasted the fastest average speed out of any other country with 22 Mbps.
Even though South Korea boasts about having the fastest internet in the world. In 2013, Freedom House ranked South Korea's internet as only "partly free". An article in The Economist states that,
"Every week portions of the Korean web are taken down by government censors. Last year about 23,000 Korean webpages were deleted, and another 63,000 blocked, at the request of the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), a nominally independent (but mainly government-appointed) public body."
According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in South Korea even the censors are being censored. They are one of few global democracies that has enacted substantial controls on online communications. OpenNet Initiative states that,
"Despite the fact that South Korea has one of the most advanced information communication technology sectors in the world, online expression remains under the strict legal and technological control of the central government. The country is the global leader in Internet connectivity and speed, but its restrictions on what Internet users can access are substantial."
It is said that political elites feel threatened by the openness of the internet. In 2012, according to a NY Times article, "A government critic who called the president a curse word on his Twitter account found it blocked." It is clear that there is some worry on the part of the politicians in South Korea. Although the board says it's working to become more transparent, some people think the board is missing the bigger point about democratic rights.