&#91LETTERS TO THE EDITOR&#93Korean press has a double standard

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&#91LETTERS TO THE EDITOR&#93Korean press has a double standard

Published: 28 May. 2003, 00:22

Your article on the death of Matthew Sellers leaves questions unanswered, but the story helped clear up many questions I had after reading about it in the man’s hometown U.S. newspaper.
If the Korean press, civic groups, teachers and politicians would be as careful as the JoongAng Daily was in reporting this case, Korea would be a nicer place for foreigners to live and the U.S.-Korea relationship would be in better shape.
Imagine if a Korean man had died in a USFK hospital after being picked up by U.S. military police? The stories and the protests would have exploded the next day.
But there were zero articles in the Korean press of this American’s death after being picked up by Korean police. Not one, from the day of his death, April 20, until May 24.
The JoongAng Daily took its time to get the story right and ran the best information available. That is what the public should expect.
If the Korean press would take as much care with explosive news stories involving the U.S. military, many of us would appreciate it.

by Scott Autry