Mixed Reaction to Smart Mobile Phone

LG telecom launched service for ‘looking for friend’, which can find out the location of the opposite through mobile phones in May, and there was a rush of inquiry calls from ‘house wives’. Most of the calls were “I want to know where my husband is, through mobile. ”

In deed, Ms. Kim Mi-sook (female. false name. Jamwon-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul) keeps watching her husband who used to come late after drinks, through mobile. Ms. Kim registered husband’s mobile number in her mobile menu ‘ looking for friend ’, when husband was sleeping. And as she called up husband’s mobile, message for allowing location information came on his mobile, and she pressed ‘yes’.

If it is allowed, there is no special process. Mobile phone is becoming intelligent like this but there is not only positive side for good efficient working but also side effects following high technology, such as leaking of private information.

▽‘I know where you are ’ = Three domestic mobile firms provided service for location information. Mobile firms find out location of mobile through sign of base station, and provide the information to the one who wants the information. As long as mobile is switched on, location of mobile is exposed to mobile firm for 24 hours.

Members of ‘Looking for friend ’ of SK telecom are 1.6 million. Members of ‘guard angel’ of KTF are up to 450 thousand, too. LG telecom has general members of 472 thousand.

These services are provided to the one whom the subject agreed for ‘looking for location’. However, it is possible to carry out without knowing the subject, therefore, there is indication that caution of ‘invasion of privacy’ is required.

Due to this, in U.S, information of location is divided into important private information like credit and treatment information. Lawyer Lee Byung-dae, who studied this field, “ U.S legislated ‘protection law for information of location’ last year and EU is also preparing related law ” and “as regards law information, Korea is, for now, defenseless.”

▽ If used well, it is money = Delivery firm, CJ GLS provided mobile that has chip for connecting location information into company goods system, to 2,000 deliverers. As a result, they could respond to client’s demand swiftly and reduce delivery time, therefore, productivity has increased highly, explained the company.

Security firm, S1 affiliated with LG telecom plans to show high technology service ‘mobile guard’. If client presses emergency button on mobile, it is connected to S1 control room and the nearest guard car goes to the place.

Likewise, formula for ‘information of location=money’ is formed and ministry of information and communication expects the market based on information of location would reach 200 billion dollars in 2005.

▽ ‘afraid of mobile & interested in mobile’ = Many young women who wear skirt say, “It bothers if someone is holding mobile in subway train or escalator. ” Because they can take pictures of secret parts of the opposite with mobile which has camera, pretending to press phone number.

Firms prospect those mobiles, which has camera, has had a sale of 1.5 million this year and is expected to be 4 million next year.

Experts say that mobile that has camera doesn’t have a flash, therefore, it is not suitable as ‘hidden camera’ at dark places. Nevertheless, people find it intolerable for a stranger to take a picture of them unknowingly.

However, there is different opinion that if camera mobile is used well, it can provide new life style. Due to sale of camera mobiles, new culture is appearing such as asking opinion of others while shopping; utilizing family or children photo as mobile background, etc. After all, like other new technology, according to the one who uses camera mobile, it can be poison or a medicine.

Jong sik Kong kong@donga.com