current status of Korean Media...

Posted: 2003/04/19  By: Gyopo (Views:2620)

Yeah! Surely Korean media goes wrong nowadays. Shinshon maaaan!

I bet most of Koreans including gyopos agree with this truth.

Press Policies Under International Eye  

by Kim Seong-yun (gourmet@chosun.com)

The International Press Institute, an association of newspaper publishers, on Thursday sent a
report expressing concern about South Korea's press freedom situation to the International
Freedom of Expression and Exchange. The exchange, based in Montreal, was established in 1992 by
57 world organizations promoting freedom of the press and human rights.

The report explained that the South Korean government adopted a new media policy last month
called "How to Operate Press Rooms." The institute pointed out that the policy had been
criticized by people who say it will infringe on the people's right to know and the freedom of
the press.

The following is the text of the report:

IPI/IFEX) - The following is an IPI update on the latest press freedom developments in South
Korea, which has been on the IPI Watch List since 6 September 2001:

At a meeting of government agency spokesmen held on 27 March 2003, the South Korean
government adopted a new press policy, dubbed "How to Operate Press Rooms".

Jo Young-dong of the Korean Information Service (KIS) said that reporters should be banned
from visiting the offices of ministries and agencies. "If the reporters need an interview", he
said, "they should make a request to get one through a press officer and then meet with the
interview partner at a neutral location".

The plan would scrap the "dedicated reporter system" at government agencies, in which each
agency was responsible for assigning reporters of media outlets to work with. Also, it is
proposed that the reporters' room, which the accredited journalists used freely, would be made
into a briefing room.

These guidelines, which critics say infringe on freedom of the press and the people's right
to know, are similar to the controversial ones disclosed on 14 March by Lee Chang-dong, the
Minister of Culture and Tourism, which included:

- the closure of the press room in the ministry; - the introduction of weekly briefings for
the press; - the restriction of reporters from visiting the ministry's offices; and - the
requirement for the ministry staff to report their contacts with reporters to their
supervisors.

The Korea Journalists Club demanded an immediate repeal of the oppressive restrictions by the
"Participatory Government" (as the Roh government likes to call itself), which infringe on
freedom of the press and the right of people to be informed.

The Korea News Editors Association said the guidelines were hostile and designed to control
the press, and expressed worries that reports will only be available when the minister decides
to supply information.

The Journalists Association of Korea, which represents journalists working in both TV and
print media, stated that requiring staff members of the ministry to report their contacts with
reporters in advance could only be interpreted as the government's intention to only release
stories that are favourable to it. Furthermore, it expressed doubts that the media, under the
new press guidelines, will be able to properly carry out their inherent role of monitoring and
criticizing the government, and it warned that the new guidelines could set an example for all
government ministries and agencies. A fear, which quickly became reality.

In particular, the media organisations said they were taken aback by the choice of words used
by minister Lee Chang-dong in announcing the changes, since he called them part of a "war
against erroneous reports". However, the "enemy" in this unconventional conflict was identified
by President Roh Moo-hyun himself: the mass media, which distort or wilfully misinterpret the
actions of his administration.

Roh's "declaration of war" was made in a daily newsletter printed by Chong Wa Dae on 14
March. "We will wage a war against misreporting", the president reportedly said in a Cabinet
meeting, and decided that Cho Young-dong, Minister of the Government Information Agency, would
lead the team charged with stamping out inaccuracies in the media.

At the above-mentioned meeting the government enforced press guidelines for all government
ministries and agencies. This indicates that the "News Gathering Guidelines" will effectively
restrict the supply of public information for the sake of the administration's convenience,
thereby limiting the citizens' right to know.

A spokesman for the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) said that the Roh administration
was overreacting to occasional false reports, and claimed that the new administration's media
policies seem designed to "directly or indirectly seize and tame" the media. He said that the
new system looked like it was opening doors, but actually restricted media coverage. The GNP
translated the formal name for the new guidelines as the "Public-Relations Operation Plan". It
also warned that restricting office visits and interviews through public relations officers
would weaken the function of the press to investigate or criticize. Furthermore, if the
interviewed officer must report to the public-relations officer this in effect would mean that
all government employees would be unable to talk to the press. And it also makes it impossible
for the media to maintain its right to protect confidential sources.

President Roh rejected such accusations when he said, "Public service workers should make
decisions on their own", but he also stated that there should be a "healthy tension between the
government and the media".

At the workshop for government spokespersons, President Roh Moo-hyun said that the power of
the media was "extremely dangerous" and that the media's power structure is extremely
concentrated. He also said those who execute the power are never investigated or audited by the
public.

Press officers from the central government agencies also discussed how to cope with damaging
reports in the media, including when to sue for libel. The government intends to consider
filing civil and criminal suits when necessary, in addition to demanding the publication of
corrrections. The press officers heard a special lecture on "Procedures for and Methods of
Remedying Damage Caused by Press Reports" given by an attorney-at-law.

Unfortunately, this media situation has some additional "unpleasant" perspectives:

* The nomination of a new chief at the state-funded television network KBS. At the end of
March, the network's union came out against the appointment of Seo Dong-ku as new president of
the network, since he was a former media counsel of President Roh Moo-hyun's presidential
campaign. The union foresaw "a problem with political neutrality".

* The activities of political movements under the guise of civic movements. The supporters
club of President Roh Moo-hyun, called "Nosamo" (People Who Love Roh Moo-hyun), sought an
alliance with another organisation, called "Choase" (A Beautiful World Without the Chosun Ilbo
Newspaper). One of the manifestos of this group reads: "Because an attack on a number of
dailies would be ineffective, we consented to what is called 'killing only one'."

Two cult figures of the groups, actors Myung Gye-nam and Moon Song-gun, have now initiated
another organisation, an Internet civic movement, called "The People's Strength", a self-styled
politics network declared as "an organization of warriors formed with genuine membership".

A hard-core group of these organisations has now created what they call "a gangster media
destruction team". The media companies they want to see toppled are the main independent
dailies, the Chosun Ilbo, the DongA Ilbo and the JoongAng Ilbo. On the surface they say it is
because these newspapers distort the truth, but their real reason is that these newspapers are
too influential and not pro-government. They organise boycotts of interviews, discourage people
from subscribing and try to initiate advertising boycotts.

On 1 March, approximately 200 members of these groups dragged a large crane to the front gate
of the Independence Hall Museum in Cheonan and made a show of trying to drag out the antique
rotary press machine of the Chosun Ilbo, while shouting slogans disparaging the newspaper.
Ultimately the pressure

Roh's "declaration of war" was made in a daily newsletter printed by Chong Wa Dae on 14
March. "We will wage a war against misreporting", the president reportedly said in a Cabinet
meeting, and decided that Cho Young-dong, Minister of the Government Information Agency, would
lead the team charged with stamping out inaccuracies in the media.

At the above-mentioned meeting the government enforced press guidelines for all government
ministries and agencies. This indicates that the "News Gathering Guidelines" will effectively
restrict the supply of public information for the sake of the administration's convenience,
thereby limiting the citizens' right to know.

A spokesman for the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) said that the Roh administration
was overreacting to occasional false reports, and claimed that the new administration's media
policies seem designed to "directly or indirectly seize and tame" the media. He said that the
new system looked like it was opening doors, but actually restricted media coverage. The GNP
translated the formal name for the new guidelines as the "Public-Relations Operation Plan". It
also warned that restricting office visits and interviews through public relations officers
would weaken the function of the press to investigate or criticize. Furthermore, if the
interviewed officer must report to the public-relations officer this in effect would mean that
all government employees would be unable to talk to the press. And it also makes it impossible
for the media to maintain its right to protect confidential sources.

President Roh rejected such accusations when he said, "Public service workers should make
decisions on their own", but he also stated that there should be a "healthy tension between the
government and the media".

At the workshop for government spokespersons, President Roh Moo-hyun said that the power of
the media was "extremely dangerous" and that the media's power structure is extremely
concentrated. He also said those who execute the power are never investigated or audited by the
public.

Press officers from the central government agencies also discussed how to cope with damaging
reports in the media, including when to sue for libel. The government intends to consider
filing civil and criminal suits when necessary, in addition to demanding the publication of
corrrections. The press officers heard a special lecture on "Procedures for and Methods of
Remedying Damage Caused by Press Reports" given by an attorney-at-law.

Unfortunately, this media situation has some additional "unpleasant" perspectives:

* The nomination of a new chief at the state-funded television network KBS. At the end of
March, the network's union came out against the appointment of Seo Dong-ku as new president of
the network, since he was a former media counsel of President Roh Moo-hyun's presidential
campaign. The union foresaw "a problem with political neutrality".

* The activities of political movements under the guise of civic movements. The supporters
club of President Roh Moo-hyun, called "Nosamo" (People Who Love Roh Moo-hyun), sought an
alliance with another organisation, called "Choase" (A Beautiful World Without the Chosun Ilbo
Newspaper). One of the manifestos of this group reads: "Because an attack on a number of
dailies would be ineffective, we consented to what is called 'killing only one'."

Two cult figures of the groups, actors Myung Gye-nam and Moon Song-gun, have now initiated
another organisation, an Internet civic movement, called "The People's Strength", a self-styled
politics network declared as "an organization of warriors formed with genuine membership".

A hard-core group of these organisations has now created what they call "a gangster media
destruction team". The media companies they want to see toppled are the main independent
dailies, the Chosun Ilbo, the DongA Ilbo and the JoongAng Ilbo. On the surface they say it is
because these newspapers distort the truth, but their real reason is that these newspapers are
too influential and not pro-government. They organise boycotts of interviews, discourage people
from subscribing and try to initiate advertising boycotts.

On 1 March, approximately 200 members of these groups dragged a large crane to the front gate
of the Independence Hall Museum in Cheonan and made a show of trying to drag out the antique
rotary press machine of the Chosun Ilbo, while shouting slogans disparaging the newspaper.
Ultimately the pressure exerted by the activists seemed to be too much for the museum and, on
17 March, it was decided that the Chosun Ilbo's old press machine, which has been housed in the
museum since 1987, would be removed because of demands by activists opposed to the daily.

Chosun Ilbo wrote in a column, "If you don't like something in a democratic society, you can
ignore it. But if you insist that an idea you don't like must be crushed, you're out of line.
That's going way beyond criticism."

More Information: For further information, contact the IPI at Spiegelgasse 2, A-1010 Vienna,
Austria, tel: +43 1 512 90 11, fax: +43 1 512 90 14, e-mail: Michael Kudlak at
mkudlak@freemedia.at, Barbara Trionfi at info@freemedia.at, or David Dadge at
ddadge@freemedia.at, Internet site: www.freemedia.at