인터넷 환경에서 사회 이슈 증폭 현상의 정책적 의미

This paper presents an empirical review of the dynamics of the risk amplification process in the Internet environment. An analytic emphasis is placed on public concern for environmental risks from a high-speed railway tunnel construction project in South Korea. Social organizations and environmental activists serving as social stations collected information about the construction and its ecological impact, and communicated this with the general public, social groups, and institutions. The Internet provides social stations and the public with an efficient means for interactive communication and an open space for active information sharing and public participation. While the website of an organization can initially trigger local interest, the Internet allows this information to be disseminated to a much wider audience in a manner unavailable to the traditional media. Interaction among social stations demonstrates an amplifying process of public attention to the risk. Analyses of the volume of readers’ comments to on-line newspaper articles and public opinions posted on message board of public and non-profit organizations show the ripple effects of the risk amplification process as measured along temporal, geographical, and sectoral dimensions. As a medium for information sharing and communication, the Internet is an increasingly important element in risk amplification, and deserves further empirical analysis.