Nosamo ( ko, 노사모; acronym for 노무현을 사랑하는 사람들의 모임 "gathering of people who love
Roh Moo-hyun") is an
internet-based group organised in 2000 as a fan club for the
South Korean politician and former president
Roh Moo-hyun.
Nosamo started small (at a
PC bang -
internet cafes of
South Korea - in
Daejeon by a few
netizens), 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 election to the presidency in a tight, bitterly fought contest that pitted Roh 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 26th Prime Minister of South Korea from 1993 to 1994. He was a presidential candidate in the 15th, 16th and 17th presidential elections of South K ...
(see
South Korean Presidential Election, 2002
Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 19 December 2002. The result was a victory for Roh Moo-Hyun of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party, who defeated Lee Hoi-chang of the Grand National Party by just over half a million votes.
...
).
Lee, seen as the more conservative candidate, 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.
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 him for illegal electioneering and incompetence; Nosamo members organised a candlelight vigil in protest.
Because Nosamo as an internet-based political organisation has very little precedent in 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. Later, some of these aides were involved in corruption 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
Iraq.
External links
Official English page of Roh Moo-HyunThe Uri Party (in Korean)Nosamo: Roh Moo-hyun's fan club (in Korean)
See also:
Politics of South Korea
Political organizations based in South Korea
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