I have received a rather absurd report.

It was reported that the Pyongyang headquarters of the Democratic Party of Korea and the incense altar of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun were located in Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang.

When I saw what was going on, it was a story that Google maps provided by Google searched for places called 'Pyongyang Headquarters of the Democratic Party of Korea' and 'Noeup-eup Incense Office' in Pyongyang.

(Noeup-eup is a term used to refer to the late former President Roh Moo-hyun on far-right sites such as Ilbe) Attach a photo of the report.




Of course, there is no such place in Pyongyang.

Not true.

It's crazy.

It is strongly believed that someone registered as a joke or intentionally.

But this isn't the first time this has happened.

Also in April, it was known that places such as 'The Democratic Party Headquarters' and 'Moon Jae-in Camp Pyongyang Headquarters' were registered near Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, and it was reported several times in the media.

As it became a hot topic at the time, the place name was deleted, but sooner or later, someone secretly re-registered it.

I received the report last Thursday, that is, on the 22nd, but two days later, writing the article on the 24th, I searched again, and the place called the incense house still remained, and the Democratic Party headquarters was erased again.




This is possible because Google Maps adopts an open source method that allows anyone to register place information. If you click on a specific place on Google Maps, you can enter the name of the place, category, etc., and register through a simple procedure. It is different from Naver or Daum, which are domestic portal map services. When I asked Naver, the answer came back saying, "Basically, 100% of user reports are reflected after inspection." In the case of registration of a new place, it is explained that even if a user report is received, the registration process is carried out after verification through Naver itself or the data of an external CP or business owner. (I sent an inquiry email to Google Korea to check the place registration procedure on Google Maps, but there was no response)



Of course, a simple comparison between Google Maps for the world and Naver and Daum Maps for Korea only It may be difficult. However, the problem is that the above is repeated and there is a possibility that it can be used as fake news. In fact, when the above problem came up three months ago, some far-right YouTubers said, 'Shock! He also uploaded several videos with titles such as 'The Democratic Party's headquarters is in Pyongyang'. You may wonder who believes such things, but looking at the comments, it seems that there are quite a few people who actually believe it.




The content is also quite malicious to be dismissed as a joke.

Even if it's a place like 'Geumsusan Sun Pork Gukbap', you can think of it as a joke, it is an act that crosses the line of psoriasis using the incense burner of the deceased former president.

Any ex-president, regardless of camp or party.

It is also a passage where you can strongly feel the shadow of 'Ilbe', which caused various social scandals.

Besides, the election is just a few months away.

In a time when we have to be on the lookout for all kinds of matador and fake news, there is a great possibility that it will be used as another channel for fake news.


Google, who demanded precision maps in Korea, is responsible for management and supervision?

As I said before, this can be seen as a happening because Google Maps adopts an open source method. In fact, Google has been actively utilizing the open source method that induces users' voluntary participation and uses it as a growth engine and resource enough to be called 'the godfather of the open source world'. This is also the secret to Google's dominance in the global Internet market faster and more powerfully than any other Internet platform. This openness was also cited as a point of contrast with the somewhat closed domestic portal companies. Google Maps is no exception.



There is, however, one point to point out. Google has been persistently requesting the government to provide precise map data. According to a policy report titled <Review and Recommendation on Google's Application for Export of Domestic Map Data> prepared in August 2016 by Ahn Jung-sang, senior expert on broadcasting and information communication, the Democratic Party of Korea, Google has provided the Korean government with domestic map data since 2007 requested to be taken out. The following year, at the 2008 Korea-U.S. Trade Conference, they repeatedly demanded the release of data, claiming 'discrimination against foreign IT companies'. In 2010, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs officially applied for permission to export map data, but was rejected. And six years later, in 2016, once again, he officially submitted an application for permission to export map data to the National Geographic Information Service under the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, but was rejected.



It's not that our government just said no.

In addition to the security peculiarities of being a divided country, there were various reasons such as concerns about reverse discrimination with domestic companies, and data created using public taxes.

The map data requested by Google is based on a 1:5,000 large-scale numerical topographic map created digitally by the National Geographic Information Service, and it is the result of a lot of cost and manpower input.

Even though the government proposed an arbitration plan to provide data on condition of installing a domestic server, Google did not accept it and it broke down.




The main purpose of Google's request for map data seems to be 'money' after all.

This is because accurate geographic information can be used as a foothold to link with various services and generate revenue.

The increase in convenience for users was also cited as a reason, but it is not a particularly convincing argument considering the domestic conditions where you can see every corner of the country in street view.

(Domestic online map application also provides foreign language versions) In other words, Google is claiming its rights as a business operator and requesting map data with public costs.



But with rights come responsibilities.

As mentioned earlier, this is not a content and situation that can be simply dismissed as a joke.

If there are concerns about bad effects and side effects, minimal supervision is necessary to prevent them.

Google said in the past that "more than 85% of false reports and manipulations, such as fake news, are filtered out through the internal system, and reports from users are actively reflected," but nothing seems to have changed.


Democratic Advisory Council "I will demand correction"

It was first discovered and reported this problem by aides from the 'Democratic Party Assistants' Council' (hereinafter referred to as the Minbohyup), a meeting of aides of the Democratic Party of Korea. Min Bohyup Chairman Lee Dong-yoon told reporters, "After formally reporting to the party leadership, we will strongly protest against Google." He added that along with the standing committee's response, he would urge Google to come up with measures to prevent recurrence.



In fact, there is no party or faction in front of fake news and disinformation. Where is the People's Power branch before the presidential election, where is the villa of a specific presidential candidate? Just thinking about the situation where fake information is spreading makes me really tired just imagining it. Apart from being tired, it can only be a loss and waste of society as a whole. When the plate becomes turbid, everyone eventually becomes a victim. It is also the reason why it is not easy to tell what a joke with Google Maps is.