All members of the South Korean parliament have pledged to take part in a campaign to get rid of hate speech, bullying and human rights violations in cyberspace, the Sunfull Foundation said Sunday.
“All 299 lawmakers have signed a pledge to support using good language during their political activities,” announced the organization’s founder Min Byoung-chul during an award ceremony held Dec. 7 to commend 35 parliamentarians for using what they perceive as a respectful language, as opposed to malicious or disrespectful language.
The NGO was founded in 2007 for the purpose of eradicating malicious online comments. It has been awarding National Assembly members every year since 2013.
Sunfull, referring to kindhearted online comments, is a combination of the Korean word “sun (good)” and “full (short for reply).”
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From second row left: Indonesian Ambassador Gandi Sulistiyanto Soeherman, Rep. Suh Jung-sook of the People Power Party, Cambodian Ambassador Chring Botumrangsay, Min Byoung-chul, founder of the Sunfull Foundation, Rep. Lee Che-ik of the People Power Party, Rep. Back Hye-ryun of the Democratic Party of Korea and Designated Turkish Ambassador Murat Tamer. (The Sunfull Foundation) |
Wednesday's winners of the “Sunfull Grand Prize” were National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo; Rep. Lee Che-ik of the People Power Party, who chairs the parliament's Public Administration and Security Committee; and Rep. Hwang Hee of the Democratic Party of Korea. The 35 recipients were selected by the National Youth Sunfull Social Media Reporters, consisting of 300 high school and college students who analyzed each lawmaker’s use of language via transcripts of plenary sessions and standing committee meetings for the past year.
Foreign diplomats and other dignitaries also participated in the awards ceremony, expressing high interest in the movement. They include Indonesian Ambassador Gandi Sulistiyanto Soeherman, Cambodian Ambassador Chring Botumrangsay and Designated Turkish Ambassador Murat Tamer.
