Defense analyst reprimanded for remarks to a U.S. reporter

An researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, affiliated with the Defense Ministry, has been reprimanded for speaking critically of the president-elect to a Washington Post reporter.

The move came after recent moves by the Defense Ministry to tighten access by the press. All interview requests now have to be made through the public affairs office; direct meetings and telephone calls to senior ministry officials are banned.

Kim Tae-woo, the researcher, was slapped with a one-month pay reduction because of the interview. The Washington Post quoted him in a Jan. 9 article as saying that Korea's incoming president, Roh Moo-hyun, and his aides "have no concept of security." Mr. Kim later denied making the statement, and was not available for comment yesterday after the reprimand.

The Defense Ministry distributed press relations guidelines late last month that had been largely ignored until Mr. Kim's comments were printed.

The move to control more tightly activities of reporters covering the ministry began earlier last month when the ministry's leadership began a search for officials it believed were responsible for leaking information about revisions to plans for defending Seoul against attack. The JoongAng Daily quoted senior Defense Ministry officials on Jan. 17 concerning ongoing work on new plans by Korea and the United States to beef up defenses in the capital region against a North Korean military attack.

by Lee Chul-hee