[120201] Struggles for free press

Struggles for free press

Restoring independence of media environment distorted under Lee Myung-bak administration

Union members of the MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) including some famous anchors and producers participate in a get-together starting their strike at the lobby of the broadcasting company in Yeouido, Seoul, Jan. 30, 2012. (Source: OhmyNews)

It is the fifth time under the Lee Myung-bak administration that the union of Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has decided to go on strike. During the 10-year-period of the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, there has not been a single walkout by the major broadcaster.

In May 2010, MBC unionized workers staged a walkout (regrettably without any big trophies in the end) for 39 days in protest against the “unjust” appointment of Kim Jae-chul, a loyalist to President Lee Myunb-bak, as the new MBC president.

Union representatives say that this time their fight would be totally different from previous ones. Some 500 unionists have joined the move to demand Kim’s immediate resignation as president over allegedly biased news coverage of major political, economic and social issues.

In fact, MBC is not the only case of conflicts under the Lee administration. KBS and SBS, the other two of the country’s ‘Big 3’ broadcasters, have also gone through various episodes of discord which, many critics saw, stemmed from the government’s scheme to seize control of the media.

KBS had to see its chief executive Jung Yeon-ju – named in the previous Roh administration – sacked well before the end of his given term of office, while all-news cable channel YTN had to let some producers and reporters fired in a similar “parachute” appointment case.

Even some celebrities dubbed the “social-tainers” have been kicked out of the entertainment world, losing ways to earn bread – not because they actually said anything badly critical but because they are feared to.

In the center of all these multi-faceted endeavors to “gag and control” the press is Choi See-joong, who offered to step down last week as chairman of the Korea Communications Commission. One of the closest allies to Lee, Choi is accused of having distorted the “eco-system” of the media world.

Choi, as Lee’s media henchman, masterminded legal attacks against Jung (he was later acquitted by the top court, but cannot return to KBS); it was also the old man who spearheaded the efforts to grant the ‘Big 3’ conservative newspapers with licenses to run general programming cable channels.

His resignation came as allegations have been raised against one of his policy assistants, who is said to have pocketed billions of won in kickback. It didn’t take too long, however, before charges of illicit political activities got directed to Choi himself: he has allegedly handed out tens of millions of won to pro-Lee lawmakers in the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) in 2008 (read related article).

Choi’s collapse, however, does not bring to an end to all the problems. It is only a sign that Lee and his administration are set to fall into a disgraceful decline, which even those from the ruling camp expect would be filled with more embarrassing scandals. What should be done now, regardless of the fate of Lee and his loyalists, is the restoration of a politically-independent media environment.

Given the enormous influence of terrestrial television broadcasting on public opinion in South Korea, its “publicness” is an absolute value that can never be abandoned – especially in this election year. And that is why many people hope MBC’s fifth strike to be the last under the current administration.




By pushahead
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012