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<17> Former Journalists Choking the Press as Roh Administration Officials

<17> Former Journalists Choking the Press as Roh Administration Officials

Posted December. 17, 2007 18:22,   

한국어

New Administration-Press Alliance against Free Speech

The Roh administration has filled major posts with regulatory power over the press with members of friendlier civic groups and journalist organizations. President Roh has appointed reporters of friendlier weekly magazines such as Media Today and former members of media watch groups such as CCDM (Citizens’ Coalition for Democratic Media) and PCMR (People’s Coalition for Media Reform) to, for example, the office of the presidential press secretary, the KBS board of directors, and other regulatory commissions. Once appointed, they have designed and executed Roh’s anti-free speech policies. They have a long history of advocating for anti-free speech ideas, the ideas that President Roh has continuously pursued throughout his entire presidency. The current version of the Press Act, which President Roh enacted, authorizes state intervention in the operation of newspaper companies and the market. The pro-Roh and anti-free speech figures have called the shots with the power granted by President Roh, leading to the coinage of a new term “New Power-Press alliance.”

Among various organizations, the CCDM stands out most. Its seven former members have led powerful bodies including the Korean Broadcasting Commission and the KBS board of directors. The civic group has criticized former journalists who have turned into public officials and politicians. But the group has kept silent about their former members or even defended their moves.

Fast Rise of Former Activists up the Power Echelon –

A considerable number of the CCDM members were appointed to major posts in the powerful Korean Media Commission under the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations. The commission has the authority to enforce media policies and regulate the media.

For example, former senior CCDM members occupied the important offices of the Korean Broadcasting Commission in its current third term. Former Seoul National University emeritus professor Lee Sang-hee, the former advisor of the civic group, headed the commission, and former CCDM head Choi Min-hee served the commission as deputy commissioner. In addition, Kwangwoon University professor Ju Dong-hwang, who coordinated the CCDM medial policy, was one of the standing members of the commission. In total, the former CCDM members occupied one-third of the nine commission directors positions. Lee and Ju, however, resigned due to health problems and an illegal land deal, respectively.

Previously, during the second term of the Korean Broadcasting Commission, former CCDM director and Sungkyunkwan University professor Lee Hyo-seong occupied the second ranking position in the commission, and ex-chairman of the CCDM Seong Yu-bo became the standing member of the government body. The commissioner of the Korean Broadcasting Commission has the capacity of a minister and its deputy commissioner has that of a deputy minister. Thus, the civic group has produced five senior government officials over the past 10 years.

To get a job as standing director of state-run broadcasting company KBS, a candidate has to obtain the recommendation of the Korean Broadcasting Commission and the approval of the president. One of the incumbent KBS directors, Shin Tae-seop, also heads the CCDM and is a Dongeui University professor. The KBS labor union fiercely opposed his appointment due to Shin’s plagiarized dissertation, an issue that surfaced right after his appointment.

SungKongHoe University professor Kim Seo-jung, co-leader of the CCDM, vice-chairs the Korea Commission for the Press (“KCP”), whose establishment was authorized by the Press Act.

As to the PCMR, the story is not that different. Its joint leader Kim Yeong-ho serves as director in the KCP and the Korea Newspaper Circulation Service. Likewise, KBS Director Lee Chun-bal was a senior PCMR official. KCP Secretary General Kim Ju-eon, who had previously worked for the PCMR in the same capacity, was fired after the court found him guilty on the charge of defamation.

A significant number of the former pro-Roh civic group leaders were plagued by their illegal and unethical conducts including suspicious real estate deals and plagiarism, and resigned under heavy pressure and criticism from the public. Despite the recurring problems, they have commanded the loyal trust of President Roh and occupied high positions under his administration without the proper screening procedures.

Roh’s Snipers Aiming at Critical Newspapers –

The presidential press secretary office and the Government Information Agency (“GIA”) stand on the front line, enforcing Roh’s “Hate Policy” against the press. The two bodies are like alumni organizations of former Media Today journalists.

Media Today broke away and became independent from the Association of Korean Journalists in 1995 and was incorporated in 1999. Through its articles, Media Today bombarded the newspapers railing against the Roh administration, and formed an alliance with the CCDM to promote Roh’s policies.

The second ranking person in the Government Information Agency, Ahn Yeong-bae, 45, previously worked for a couple of extremely liberal and socialist magazines, and served as editor-in-chief for Media Today. He started working for the Roh administration in 2003 as senior official in charge of public relations at Cheong Wa Dae. In July 2004, he was forced to resign due to his negligent supervision of the Cheong Wa Dae homepage where then Grand National Party leader Park Geun-hye was sexually mocked. Ahn, however, made a successful comeback in about a month thereafter, and became promoted to the second ranking position in the agency.

Prior to his job as the presidential secretary for domestic communications, Jeong Gu-cheol, 44, also worked for Media Today and other socialist organizations. In 2004, he became a senior public relations official and a senior officer of KTV, a state-funded cable news network.

Yang Jeong-cheol, 43, who now serves President Roh as secretary for communications planning, worked for the gazette of the Association of Korean Journalists from 1988 to 1994, and served in both the Nasan Group and the Hanbo Group.

After serving as the first president of Media Today and head of the reporters’ union, Nam Yeong-jin served then candidate Roh Moo-hyun in 2002 as his speechwriter. He then worked for state-run Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation as an auditor, and now serves the KCP as secretary general.

Quitting his job as Media Today reporter, Jang Hyeon-cheol started a new career as a senior GIA official under the Kim Dae-jung administration. He then worked for Kim and Roh as a member of the presidential public relations office from 2001. Jang quit in May 2006 due to a physical brawl and drunkenness incident. Soon thereafter, however, President Roh gave him a lucrative position as senior Game Rating Board membership although he had no experience or knowledge in the game industry. Again, not long thereafter, Jang had to resign due to heavy criticism over Roh’s special favor.

Another Media Today officer Lee Ho-seok moved over to Cheong Wa Dae in May 2006, and former senior editor Shin Mee-hee of the CCDM, Media Today, and OhmyNews also obtained a job at the presidential office in June 2006.

These figures have come up with various policy tools to gag the critical newspapers and posted critiques on the Cheong Wa Dae homepage condemning the press’ criticism of the Roh administration.

Nepotism for Their Men –

The pro-Roh media groups and agencies have been waging various campaigns in the name of supervision of the print and broadcast media. Their standards are hypocritical or, to say the least, inconsistent. They show huge leniency toward their former colleagues.

When former CCDM leader Shin Tae-seop was attacked for plagiarism, the socialist group defended Shin and branded the criticism as politically motivated. Chungnam National University professor Kim Jae-yeong, who was a senior member of the civic body, contended in his contribution to Media Today, “Everyone knows how rampant plagiarism is among Korean professors. But the Dong-A singled out Shin. It’s only because he is the joint leader of the [CCDM]. Singling out is worse than plagiarism.”

About a year ago, Shim promised to ask the KACIS (Korea Association of Communication and Information Studies) to verify the integrity of his paper. No one has heard from him about this issue since nor have other organizations such as the Korean Media Commission or the CCDM taken any action.

In June 2004, when the KACIS issued a report condemning the media’s biased coverage over the President Roh impeachment affair, Korean Broadcasting Commission vice-chairman Lee Hyo-seong contributed articles to OhmyNews and Media Today denouncing the KACIS report, which resulted in harsh criticism claiming that he breached his constitutional obligation of political neutrality. The CCDM, however, rolled up its sleeves in Lee`s defence, saying, "Mr. Lee expressed his opinion on the report, not on the impeachment.”

The civic groups including CCDM have harshly lashed at former reporters and journalists who start a new career as government officials. But when President Roh appointed senior CCDM official Choi Min-hee to a member the Korean Broadcasting Commission, they praised the decision, citing her professionalism and ethnicity.

[Former Reporters Suppressing the Press]

The presidential press secretary office criticized the media coverage of the “abuse of power” scandal involving Shin Jeong-ah and her unknown powerful sponsor during its August 30 briefing and snapped, saying, “Who is the guy behind her? Tell us his real name.” The office also railed against the press and the media, defining the scandal coverage as a destructive act to dismantle the social trust and to threaten the administration.

Ironically, former journalists are the ones who oppress and attack the press most harshly. Key press policy makers are Presidential Press Secretary Yoon Seung-yong, who once worked for the Hankook Ilbo, Kim Chang-ho, who once worked for the JoongAng Ilbo and now heads the GIA, and Ahn Yeong-bae, the second man in the GIA who worked for Media Today.

In an interview with a TV station in May, Yoon commented, “As presidential spokesperson, I hated how all the reporters asked the same questions every morning. The new electronic briefing system will get away with it. It’s good for government workers as well as reporters.” Listening to his comments, South Koreans became puzzled. They could not believe that Yoon once was a journalist.

When announcing the anti-free speech measure disguised in the name of the “Advanced Media Support System,” GIA minister Kim Chang-ho shocked the reporters in August, saying, “We have accommodated your demand for guaranteed and uninterrupted access to government officials. I don’t believe there’s anything more we can and should do.” At the very moment of the announcement, the Journalists Association of Korea had been negotiating with the government to find out a breakthrough. But the GIA severed all the negotiation efforts without any prior notice.

Ahn Yeong-bae went further. In his contribution titled “Let’s be frank,” Ahn dumped all the blame on the press, saying, “Reporters don’t want to say to the public that they are entitled to meeting whichever government officials whenever they want. That’s why they are chanting decent slogans.”