Digital divide still high in S. Korea

SEOUL, March 5 (Yonhap) -- The digital utilization rate of South Korea's socially disadvantaged stood at around 70 percent of other ordinary citizens in 2019, reflecting the persistent digital divide in the country, data showed Thursday.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said the rate for the physically handicapped, elderly, people living in rural areas and low income earners inched up 1 percentage point from 68.9 percent the previous year.

"The disparity still exists, but there has been steady lessening of the divide over the years with more people getting access to digital devices and related data and content," the ministry said.

Digital accessibility of disadvantaged people stood at 91.7 percent, with ICT ability hitting 60.2 percent and overall utilization tallied at 68.8 percent.

The information showed that in terms of ICT ability and utilization, numbers rose 1.1 percentage points vis-a-vis 2018.

The data is used to gauge accessibility to various information and communication technology devices, use of the internet and online know-how. The ministry said it checked 15,000 people from across the country for the latest findings.

yonngong@yna.co.kr
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