Korea preparing to join `big data elections` bandwagon

The era of “image elections” has gone and that of “big data elections” is coming.

Barack Obama is the first black president of the U.S. and also a “social networking service” leader as he was elected thanks to millions of Twitter and Facebook supporters. He predicted the end of image elections, in which images of politicians on TV play a significant role in election results.

Obama also said candidates should communicate with votes through social networking sites, Internet communities, user-created content, and email via smartphones and tablet PCs to verify their pledges and listen to smart voters.

In the run-up to the 44th U.S. presidential election in November, Obama has finished preparation to be re-elected a “big data” president. Data refers to “vibrant public opinions” expressed by voters through new media.

The Obama camp is setting up a “big data team” consisting of statisticians, scholars in forecasting models, experts on data mining, mathematicians and software developers with an aim to begin operations in November. Obama has more than 10 million friends on Twitter and more than 20 million on Facebook.

He will mobilize cutting-edge technologies and scientific techniques to thoroughly analyze big data that his Internet friends are pouring out. By doing so, he seeks to repeat the miracle he performed in 2008.

Experts say big data elections will invigorate two-way communication; enhance transparency in election processes; and bring about friendly politics.

Lee Yeong-jo, a professor of statistics at Seoul National University and an authority on data analysis, said, “The big data election era is a time when group intelligence of citizens is reflected in election pledges,” adding, “The Internet has upgraded political culture.”

Kim Kyeong-jin, manager of the Korean branch of the U.S. big data analysis agency EMC, said, “Americans think that their president to be elected this year should be like a `killer app` selected from among hundreds of thousands listed on the Apple App Store after going through several verification processes for usefulness.”

Korean politicians are also moving to reflect online public opinions. The ruling Grand National Party is reviewing reflecting the capability to handle Twitter in nominating election candidates. The party says those communicating with a large number of votes via Twitter are likely to win elections.

In the opposition camp, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Gangwon Province Gov. Choi Moon-soon, South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Doo-kwan, and South Chungcheong Province Gov. Ahn Hee-jeong held a debate via Twitter Sunday.

Quite a few politicians are seeking to learn from experts on social networking services to devise data election strategies. They want to impress voters by following in the footsteps of companies that significantly enhanced customer satisfaction by making the most of such sites.

In line with the era of big data elections, The Dong-A Ilbo will deliver vivid public opinions from social networking sites centering on Twitter to its readers. First, Dong-A will release the rankings of politicians vis-a-vis their influence on Twitter and the list of lawmakers whose names were mentioned most frequently via Twitter in January.

As of Wednesday, Lee Jung-hee, co-chairwoman of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party, ranked first in Twitter influence with around 190,000 followers.

Second was Seoul Mayor Park and third Moon Jae-in, former chief of staff under President Roh Moo-hyun, and main opposition Democratic Unity Party chief Han Myeong-sook. Among politicians from the ruling party, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Moon-soo (ninth) and acting ruling party chief Park Geun-hye (10th), who was the most frequently mentioned lawmaker on Twitter last month, made the top 10 list.

Former IT guru Ahn Cheol-soo, who is considered a leading candidate for the presidential election in December, was excluded from the evaluation because he has no Twitter account.

coolj@donga.com baltika7@donga.com