Nosamo (; acronym for 노무현을 사랑하는 사람들의 모임 "gathering of people who love

Roh Moo-hyun Roh Moo-hyun (, ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...

") is an internet-based group organised in 2000 as a

fan club A fan club is an organized group of fans, generally of a celebrity. Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the pers ...

for the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n politician and former president

Activity

The group of Roh Moo-hyun suporters organized after a continuous streak of his defeats; particularly, after his ran for the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

as opposition to regionalism in politics. Nosamo was formed by a few

netizen The term ''netizen'' is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and ''citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.

s at a

PC bang A PC ''bang'' () is a type of internet cafe or LAN gaming center in South Korea. Patrons can use computers, often to play video games in person with friends, for an hourly fee. Although the per capita penetration of personal computers and broad ...

(

internet cafes The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that consists of private, publ ...

) in

Daejeon Daejeon (; ) is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of nearly 1.5 million. Located in a central lowland valley between the Sobaek Mountains and the Geum River, the city is known both as a ...

, but soon counted celebrities and prominent political figures among its growing number of members. In 2002, the group came into national prominence as an active force behind Roh's run for the presidency against the more established political figure of

Lee Hoi-chang Lee Hoi-chang (; born June 2, 1935) is a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of South Korea from 1993 to 1994. A political independent, he was a candidate in the 1997, 2002, and 2007 South Korean presidential el ...

. As the more

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate, Lee drew more support among the older generation, while most of Roh's support came from the younger generation. Nosamo is widely credited with mobilising the younger voters in the election; its efforts included a mobile-phone campaign on election day to urge young voters to cast their

ballots A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th centur ...

. After Roh's victory in the election, Nosamo remained an important source of political support for the president, particularly in 2004 when the South Korean parliament voted to

impeach Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Euro ...

him for illegal electioneering and incompetence; Nosamo members organised a candlelight vigil in protest.

Controversy

Because Nosamo as an internet-based

political organisation A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in politic ...

has very little precedent in South Korea or elsewhere, it has attracted a fair amount of criticism. Some have questioned whether some of Nosamo's campaign strategies broke election laws, and the selection of prominent Nosamo members as Roh's close aides has invited charges of favouritism. Notably, some of these aides were involved in

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

scandals. As of 2005, Nosamo had lost some of its political momentum as Roh's presidency saw a dip in popularity among his core supporters due to his labour policies and the deployment of troops to support the US in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

External links

Official English page of Roh Moo-Hyun

The Uri Party (in Korean)

Nosamo: Roh Moo-hyun's fan club (in Korean)

References

Political organizations based in South Korea Virtual communities {{poli-org-stub

Activity

Controversy

External links

See also

References