The Information Superhighway
February 9, 1990. Televisions across the nation were broadcasting a historic event in South Korean politics as a special report.
"The Democratic Justice Party, the Reunification Democratic Party, and the New Democratic Republican Party, driven solely by the desire to serve history and the people in the face of the era's tasks—democratic development, national reconciliation, and ethnic unity—merge without any conditions into a new party, the Democratic Liberal Party, in accordance with the provisions of the Political Parties Act."
It was the three-party merger. The Democratic Liberal Party, commonly known as the Minja Party, a massive conservative ruling party that would wield significant influence in Korean political history, was finally launching today.
"At the crossroads of advancing toward a prosperous, advanced democratic nation or falling off the cliff of unstable old practices, the three party leaders have chosen the path of prosperity for the people."
After President Roh, a man named Park Tae-joon stepped forward and invoked the people. How many would agree with this merger? Even the lawmakers within the merging parties only learned of it shortly before the announcement and were thrown into chaos.
"Over the past half-century, we have endured harsh trials and hardships, but we have overcome them with the united strength of the people. Through the '88 Olympics, the world came to Seoul, but Seoul has yet to go out into the world. Why is that? It is because political forces have failed to support the people's outstanding capabilities and have instead divided national opinion. Therefore, the Democratic, Reunification, and New Democratic parties, which share political common ground, have decided to gather under a single banner."
This time, Kim Young-sam, also known as YS, came forward to expound on the necessity of the merger. His words about the people's capabilities were correct, but it was hard to understand how he arrived at that conclusion. Of course, it would have been awkward to reveal his true inner thoughts—that this was the only way to become president—at a joint press conference. Still, YS would later become the Minjeong Party's presidential candidate and, through that, the president, perfectly achieving his goal.
In the distant future, some historians would say that after the three-party merger, YS's path as a ruling party politician opened up, making his presidential election easier. But that was knowing only one side of the story. The largest faction within the Minjeong Party was the Minjeong faction led by President Roh. President Roh knew that having his successor come from the Minjeong faction, which he could fully trust, would be better for his own post-retirement security. Naturally, he actively pushed the Minjeong faction as the next candidate. In that situation, YS's process of seizing hegemony within the Minjeong Party meant engaging in a political battle nearly equivalent to a power struggle within the Chinese Communist Party.
"The new party's president will be President Roh Tae-woo, and Kim Young-sam will serve as the representative supreme council member responsible for party operations on behalf of the president. Kim Jong-pil and Park Tae-joon, the former representative of the Minjeong Party, will serve as supreme council members. The remaining two supreme council members will be recruited from outside, and it is known that Lee Jung-jae and Shin Hyung-sik, former lawmakers, have been designated with policy considerations for the Honam region."
"When is the main point coming?" Like most citizens watching television, Yoo Jae-won was growing increasingly bored. At first, it had been fascinating to witness a historic event in real time, but it was starting to feel tedious. The extreme authoritarianism of the 1980s, vividly conveyed through the television, was exhausting just to watch.
When the announcer's segment ended, President Roh appeared on screen again.
"...Therefore, we must prepare to welcome the 21st century, which is right around the corner."
"Oh! It's finally here."
"The core technology of the 21st century lies in information and communications. The government and the party have united to establish an information and communications network that allows all citizens to communicate freely and receive services befitting the 21st century. This is the Information Superhighway Project. If the Gyeongbu Expressway symbolizes industrialization and serves as the nation's main artery, the Information Superhighway is like a neural network connecting the nerves of the entire country."
"The government will invest 25 trillion won over the next ten years to expand the internet communications network, centered on universities and research institutes, into the industrial sector. We will weave the entire nation like a spiderweb with fiber-optic cable networks capable of transmitting the equivalent of 4,000 newspaper pages per second. Additionally, we will initiate full ISDN services at the earliest possible time, laying the foundation for households to access multimedia information such as voice, text, and video, led by the government and the Democratic Liberal Party."
"Hah? 25 trillion!" Yoo Jae-won, watching the television, couldn't help but gasp. Not just a few pennies—25 trillion won. Over ten years, that amounted to 2.5 trillion won per year by simple calculation. It was an enormous sum to be spent on building an information and communications network.
It had only been the end of last month when he sent the document outlining the Information Superhighway in detail and containing his future vision. Yet the speed of progress was astonishingly fast, with funding already being discussed.
"Surely not? They can't actually be allocating 25 trillion, right?" One had to take politicians' words with a grain of salt. A prime example was the platform of the Minja Party, launched today, which included a constitutional amendment for a cabinet system. But just days later, the president revealed he had no intention of pursuing a cabinet system, and later YS abolished it entirely, citing public opposition. Since YS needed to become the successor to President Roh, he could never accept a cabinet system that would require sharing power with the prime minister.
So it was more comfortable to assume this announcement was exaggerated as well. Perhaps it was just a bold declaration to siphon off funds through the Information Superhighway project. After all, President Roh only had three years left in his term. Moreover, this year's budget had already been finalized. The only hope was a supplementary budget. It was possible they would do some token work for three years and the successor could scrap the whole thing.
"Still, if they have any conscience, they'll use at least half of the allocated budget for network construction." For now, there was no choice but to hope and believe.
"With no underground resources and a harsh environment, Korea's only resource is you, the people. The government and the party will fully support ensuring that the myth being written by Yoo Jae-won of ID Technology does not end with a single instance, but that a second and third ID Technology can emerge."
"Huh? What does that mean?" Yoo Jae-won was startled when the president on television suddenly mentioned his name directly. He had been internally calculating how to handle the situation, and now his name had come up. The context made it even more absurd. This was the first press conference of the Minja Party, the new party born from the three-party merger. It was a venue where heavyweights like President Roh, the party president, and Kim Young-sam, the representative supreme council member, were supposed to announce the party's operations and platform. Yoo Jae-won had expected the Information Superhighway to be briefly mentioned during the policy announcement. Instead, they were openly naming him and ID Technology, encouraging others to challenge them.
"Sigh, this kind of fame. If you can't avoid it, might as well enjoy it?" After all, from the president's perspective, there was no greater achievement than ID Technology. It was the only company succeeding in the American market where even chaebols had yet to make their mark, and Yoo Jae-won had started his business with full government support. So it would be wise to align with the government this time as well and secure practical benefits.
"Ah, since the official announcement has been made, I can release the document now, right?" After asking himself the question, Yoo Jae-won sat back down at his computer. The document referred to the 'InformationSuperhighway.IDW' file he had sent to the Blue House secretariat. He had already filtered out specific details like internet banking or HTS from what he sent to the secretariat, focusing on the concept and vision of the Information Superhighway. Posting an edited version would make it easier for people to understand.
True to his quick action, he executed the plan immediately. He uploaded a six-page A4 document to KETEL and a shortened four-page English version to Stanford University's internet bulletin board and CompuServe's information and communications forum. After confirming the transmission was complete, Yoo Jae-won checked the posts he had uploaded to ensure they displayed correctly, then shut down the computer.
The next day.
"...I couldn't believe this was really written by a teenager. It contained a vision that even policy research institute researchers couldn't produce. But after hearing the name Yoo Jae-won, I couldn't help but say, 'As expected of Jae-won.'"
"You flatter me."
"I have many questions about information and communications. Let's meet soon for a meal and discuss."
"Yes, it would be an honor if you call."
After a few more brief words of advice, Yoo Jae-won was able to put down the phone.
"Who was that just now that had you so tense?" After catching his breath, his father, who had been pretending not to listen but had heard everything, asked.
"It was Representative Kim Young-sam."
"Representative Kim Young-sam? You mean YS?"
Last night, there had been a thank-you call from the Blue House, and now it was Representative Kim Young-sam. It seemed the Minja Party leaders had all reviewed the Information Superhighway document. After all, President Roh couldn't have unilaterally announced a 25-trillion-won project at yesterday's press conference on his own.
"Wow, the ruling party representative calling personally—our Jae-won is really something."
Yoo Bong-man reacted more favorably to YS than to the president. Though he had never left Deokjin-ri, it was clear he liked YS much more than President Roh. Even if the president shouted that he was an "ordinary person," many still remembered him in military uniform. In contrast, YS had the image of a democratization activist and protector of female factory workers, so despite choosing the three-party merger, which many saw as a political deal, few withdrew their support for him.
"Yeah. Yesterday the president called me by name, and today it's YS. So tomorrow, won't we get a call from Kim Dae-jung?"
Kim Mal-sook, his mother, was simply delighted that a famous person like YS had called her son directly. Even as days passed, the list of relatives and new acquaintances she could brag to showed no sign of shrinking, making every day exciting for her.
"Nonsense. That man probably doesn't have the energy to worry about anything else because of the Minja Party. He's been politically isolated in one fell swoop."
As his father said, the next day and the day after that, there was no call from DJ. Instead, the media was filled with debates about the Information Superhighway announced alongside the Minja Party's launch. Opposition lawmakers argued whether it was a project worth spending 25 trillion won on, while ruling party lawmakers countered by citing the Gyeongbu Expressway project, and the debate caught fire. Voices criticizing the three-party merger itself had completely disappeared.
Moreover, with 218 seats, the Minja Party was a super ruling party capable of passing any law as long as there was no internal disagreement. Additionally, the number of people jumping into the computer industry, determined to become the second Yoo Jae-won, was exploding, and public opinion was favorable. The Information Superhighway project seemed likely to proceed smoothly.
February was a short month, so time passed quickly. That meant there were many memorable moments for Yoo Jae-won. One of them was the graduation ceremony at Deokjin Elementary School on February 15. The star of that day was, of course, Yoo Jae-won. He received not only a certificate but also a scholarship. As the representative of the graduates, he presented a bouquet to his teacher and gave the graduation address. It was a 180-degree turnaround from the humble elementary school graduation in his previous life, so Yoo Jae-won felt quite proud. In his past life, he had simply clapped for the children receiving awards on stage before trudging home. His parents had been too busy with work to attend.
Just as Yoo Jae-won had changed, so had his parents' circumstances. They received as much attention as he did. Their attire was the most stylish of all. Since last year, they had been helping with real estate investment work at ID Investment, which meant frequent trips to Seoul. With help from Choi Kang-wook and Hwang Jae-hong, they had received attention to their appearance and clothing, completely shedding their rural image. Yoo Jae-won was also on good terms with many friends, and in the case of truly close ones like Soo-kyung or Jumin, he visited often, so his parents had become acquainted with them as well. He had even received investments from the principal and some teachers. The investments had been successful. Equity investments had been a huge hit, and even general investments or loans secured by collateral had returned not only the principal but far more interest than expected. Naturally, the teachers treated Yoo Jae-won's parents with great care. Thanks to that, relationships with Soo-kyung's parents, Jumin's parents, and others who had only known each other by face quickly became as close as friends.