Roh’s press criticism grows

In the first six months of his tenure, President Roh Moo-hyun has sharpened his criticism of the nation’s press. The growing conflict between Mr. Roh and the media suggests that the government-press relationship, relatively cozy during the two previous administrations, is turning into one of the worst confrontations in the history of Korean politics.
Speaking at the National Assembly on April 2, Mr. Roh said, “A few newspaper companies run by clans have relentlessly assailed former President Kim Dae-jung’s administration. I have been attacked in the process, the fallout of which is indescribable. The pain is still continuiing.” He said he would take criminal and civil action against incorrect reporting.
Mr. Roh abolished the existing press rooms at government ministries, barred journalists from visiting government officials during working hours, and cancelled subscriptions to early-edition newpapers, whose articles had been published the night before. In the past, government officials would call newspaper editors to request them to drop unfavorable articles from later editions. He then issued an order to officials to divide newspaper articles into four categories. They included a “malicious criticism” category, and Mr. Roh urged the government to take action on articles in that group.
In the period leading up to his Aug. 13 libel suit against an opposition party lawmaker and four major Korean newspapers ― a suit that was unprecedented for an incumbent president ― he was acid toward the press.
On Aug. 2, in a policy forum with senior government and Blue House officials, Mr. Roh said the media are abusing their power “to trample [on the government], trample again when you protest, try to dig up dirt on your family, try to nail you.”
He filed a libel suit against Representative Kim Moon-soo, an opposition party lawmaker who had raised rumors of Roh Geon-pyeong, the president’s elder brother, being involved in property speculation. Mr. Roh sued the nation’s four major dailies ― the Chosun, Dong-a, JoongAng and Hankook Ilbos ― for libel for reporting on the claim without examining it closely.
The Government Information Agency indicated on Aug. 2 that the government may take action against editorials and columns “if the opinion pieces carry false facts.” The Blue House is contemplating setting up a specific organization to file suits against press companies, without going through the usual procedure of bringing its complaints before the Press Arbitration Committee first.
The Fair Trade Commission has launched a study into free gifts and promotional copies distributed, illegally, by newspaper companies.
Mr. Roh dismisses the rancor as part of a shifting change to a relationship of healthy tension between the government and the press. But members of the opposition and media scholars worry that the tension may lead to oppression of the press.
On Newspaper Day, April 7, Mr. Roh said, “Neither the government nor the press can win by testing who is more powerful... I propose that we shake off bygones, and propose cooperation and reconciliation.” But it is hard to find a conciliatory stance toward the press in the Blue House.

by Kang Min-seok