[themaninthedark]

It was government mandated but it was an attempt by their government to strengthen security at the time when they couldn't import stronger crypto. Then it became established and hard to remove.

>Due to restrictions on the export of cryptography from the United States, standard 128-bit SSL encryption was unavailable in Korea. Web browsers were only available to Koreans with weakened 40-bit encryption. In the late 1990s, the Korea Internet & Security Agency developed its own 128-bit symmetric block cipher named SEED and used ActiveX to mount it in web browsers. This soon became a domestic standard, and the country's Financial Supervisory Service used the technology as a security screening standard. ActiveX spread rapidly in Korea. In 2000, export restrictions were lifted, allowing the use of full-strength SSL anywhere in the world. Most web browsers and national e-commerce systems adopted this technology, while Korea continued to use SEED and ActiveX.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_compatibility_issues_in_So...

[setopt]

That makes a lot more sense. Thanks for sharing this bit of historical insight.