KJR 2010 02

ISSN 1976-1686
Volume. 4
2010 no.2
COLUMN
The Meaning of the G20

Seoul Summit 2010
COVER STORY
Korean Media Overview

General Trends in the Korean Press in 2010
Overview of Korean Broadcasting
Landscape of New Media Industry in Korea
A History of Koreas Media
Korean Media List
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Tendentiousness of Korean Journalism
and the Problem of the Distinction between
Facts and Opinions
A Study on Press Arbitration System in South Korea :
Focusing on its Functions of Conflict Resolution
and Reinforcing the Role of Mediation
The primary goal of the Korea Journalism Review(KJR), published by the Korea Press Foundation(KPF), lies in providing global
opinion leaders with profound insights on the state of journalism in South Korea. While paying particular attention to contemporary journalism topics, KJR covers a wide range of subjects including scholarly research, domestic controversies, news media industry, governmental policies, legal issues and journalistic practices. The review publishes highly selected research articles, managerial and legal issues having critical relevance in terms of time and significance, along with special stories published by professional
news magazines on a regular basis. For this purpose, in addition, It operates an independent editorial board consisted of college
professors, journalists, representatives of the press associations and a research fellow at KPF. Provided that KJR endeavors to satisfy public interest, there is no subscription fee for all of the volumes published twice in a year. Not only may the printed version
be freely available at various public places but any organizations and individuals are able to enjoy unlimited access to the online
version. The English version is also available through the media portal site of KPF (www.mediagaon.or.kr).
Publisher
Lee Sung-joon
Chairman, Korea Press Foundation
Editor
Kim Hyun-ho
Executive Director, Korea Press Foundation
Editorial Board
Lee Jae-Kyung
Professor, Division of Media Studies, Ewha Woman's University
Yoon Tae-jin
Professor, Department of Mass Communication, Yonsei University

Kwon Moon-han
Secretary General, Korean Association of Newspapers

Song Byoung-seung
Intrnational Relations Office Manager, Yonhap News Agency
Kim Sung-hae
Research Fellow, Korea Press Foundation
Volume. 4
2010. no.2
contents
[ Column _The Meaning of the G20 Seoul Summit 2010 ]

- Bae In-joon
[ Cover Story_ Korean Media Overview ]

General Trends in the Korean Press in 2010
- Shim Jae-chul

- Yoon Suk-nyoon
Landscape of New Media Industry in Korea

- Hwang Yong-suk
A History of Koreas Media

- Chong Chin-Sok
Korean Media List
8
14
20
27
43
[ Research Articles ]
Tendentiousness of Korean Journalism and the Problem of
the Distinction between Facts and Opinions
- Rhee June-woong
A Study on Press Arbitration System in South Korea

: Focusing on its Functions of Conflict Resolution and Reinforcing the Role of Mediation
- Kim Yung-wook
52
71
[ Reports ]
Comparison Analysis of News Coverage Attitudes
of Domestic and Foreign Media toward the Korean Economy
- Ban Hyun
Latest Key Issues surrounding North Korea

- Chang, Dong-woo
Korea-EU Journalist Seminar

- Jung Eun-joo
98
128
135
COLUMN
Korea Journalism Review
COLUMN
The Meaning of the

G20 Seoul Summit 2010
Bae In-joon
Executive Editor, The Dong-A Ilbo
Existing international groups the G7 and its expanded version, the G8 (with Russia
as a new member) tried to tackle global issues such as the financial crisis, but quickly faced
serious limitations. The G20 summit was created in 2008 largely because the United States
and other industrialized nations finally acknowledged the drastically changed reality. The
bankruptcy of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008 sent an unprecedented shock throughout the economic and financial sectors across the globe, prompting the formation of the G20 summit.
The first four G20 summits were held in G7 countries: the United States, Britain and
Canada. The first meeting took place in Washington D.C. of the United States in November
2008, right after the global financial crisis broke out. The second conference was held in
London, Britain, while the third and fourth took place in Pittsburgh, in the United States,
and Toronto, Canada.
South Korea is one of the 12 emerging economies that were included in the Group
of 20. Koreas hosting of the G20 summit in November 2010 is a striking symbol that the
emerging economies are no longer playing second fiddle. The Seoul G20 Summit is now
expected to highlight that the group embraces not only the G7 and the EU but also the 12
emerging economies.
Before the G20 summit was first held in 2008, some members of the G7 claimed that
20 member nations for the group is too many, expressing their intention to exclude Korea
and other countries. But elitism and exclusivism are anachronistic, and much less helpful for
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
COLUMN
resolving global problems.

The G8s economic power had accounted for as much 80 percent of global output in
the 1980s, but now hovers below 50 percent. The proportion of output made by the G8 in
the global economy is expected to fall steadily. As demonstrated by the 1997 Asian financial
crisis and the 2008 global economic turmoil, the advanced countries alone cannot resolve
the economic challenges. Meanwhile, the economic power and influence of the emerging
economies in Asia and South America - China, India, Brazil, South Korea, Indonesia, and
others - are projected to strengthen further. Therefore, the need to set up a body like the
G20 will only become greater.
I am very proud of the fact that South Korea hosts the G20 summit as the first nonG7 member. It was just 19 years ago, in 1991, that South Korea joined the United Nations;
therefore, it is nothing if not a landmark event that the country holds the G20 summit, an
important meeting for solving global economic issues.
It was in September 2009 at the Pittsburg Summit when the G20 members finalized
their decision to hold the next meeting in Seoul in November 2010. If South Korea had
failed to handle the global economic crisis properly, the members would not have opted to
appoint the emerging economy as the fifth host nation of the G20 summit. South Korea
identified and overcame the challenges in 2008 and 2009 swiftly and appropriately. Moreover, the country is solidifying its position by shoring up its economic growth and stabilizing
its markets. International agencies upgraded the projection for South Koreas 2010 economic growth rate on several occasions. The country is confident about its capacity to hold the
Seoul G20 Summit successfully and is putting a lot of efforts into preparing for the international event.
I believe Koreans are free-spirited yet deeply focused. We have long pulled off a series
of achievements based on the spirit that we can do it once we are determined to do it. The
G20 summit is a different event, but it should be noted that Korea successfully hosted the
Summer Olympic Games and World Cup finals. In 1988, Korea made meaningful progress
by hosting the Seoul Olympic Games. At the time, the games provided a key venue for the
world to unite beyond the division caused by the Cold War. The Seoul Olympic Games, if
anything, marked itself as a symbol of global harmony and a sports festival that went beyond differences in ideologies. Also noteworthy was that Koreans showed a great sense of
public order and many helped out with the events as volunteers.
What is Korea? In 1910, the Asian country succumbed to the imperial rule of the Japanese, which led to a loss of sovereignty for 35 years. With the end of World War II, in 1945,
Korea gained independence, but in 1948 it divided into two, with different governments in
the South and North. Unfortunately, the North invaded the South in 1950, and even after
the war ended in 1953, the North has continued to threaten the South. North Korea, an exclusivist military society, has appointed an unprecedented third-generation heir to its family
rule. The communist regimes utter failure in economic policies is also driving millions of
4
North Korean people to crushing poverty and starvation.

In contrast, South Korea has pulled off industrialization and democratization on the
principles of free democracy, market economy and free trade. This success is a rare miracle,
and almost unheard of among the countries that had formerly been colonized by imperialist
nations. About a century ago, the Western people described Korea as a nation of no hope.
But South Korea overcame the Japanese colonial period, the division into two nations, poverty and the destruction of the Korean War to become a nation of prosperity and wealth.
South Korea is now a model country for many developing countries which want to pull
themselves out of poverty.
Many foreigners are aware of the modern history concerning Korea. The Madrid Club,
a group of former government heads and administrative chiefs, held a meeting in Seoul on
September 1-2, 2010, and adopted a statement saying that Koreas experience in economic
growth will be a useful reference for developing nations which plan to map out their development strategy.
Koreans take pride in the rapid economic growth dubbed the Miracle of the Han
River, as well as in the countrys time-honored spiritual and cultural heritage. Under the
nations founding myth, Korea was founded 4,300 years ago by Dangun. And during the Joseon Dynasty, which preceded modern Korea, King Sejong invented Hangul, a unique writing system, in 1446. Hangul is a scientific, expressive and beautiful writing system. The Joseon Dynasty also exhibited a high level of science and technology around the 15th century,
which is a historical fact often cited by Koreans as a proud achievement. From ancient times,
Koreans have valued courtesy, academic endeavor and spiritual culture. Nobel prize winner
and Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore called Korea the Lamp of the East, and China referred to Korea as the Courteous Country of the East. After all, Korea and Koreans did
not spring out of barbarity into civilization overnight.
The Korean Peninsula, with its rich history of civilization and culture, has two political
systems: One in the South is prospering, and the other in the North is stuck in abnormality.
The main reason is their different political systems. If North Korea gives up on its outdated
communism and hereditary monarchy, and integrates into South Koreas liberal democracy,
the Korean Peninsula will once again serve as a region contributing to the peace and prosperity of the world. I sincerely hope presidents and top policymakers attending the Seoul
G20 Summit have a deeper understanding of Korea and the Korean Peninsula.
Nothing is more important than hosting the Seoul G20 Summit successfully. As host,
Korea should exercise its leadership and coordination skills in setting the agenda for the
members. Deputy finance ministers and deputy governors of central governments got together in Seoul on September 4-5 to check out the key agenda for the G20 summit in November. At that meeting, participants discussed the G20 framework for a sustainable and
balanced growth and possible ways to reform the international financial institutions and set
up a financial safety net. The topics will be reviewed and elaborated further at the G20 FiVolume. 4 2010 no.2
COLUMN
nance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting to be held October 22-23. And the
topics are likely to be utilized for the Seoul G20 Summit, slated for November 11-12. The
final agendas are expected to be finalized within October.
Pascal Lamy, director-general of the World Trade Organization, visited South Korea in
early September to discuss the Seoul G20 Summit agenda. WTO is scheduled to report the
progress of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) to top policymakers at the summit.
G20 summits are primarily used as a venue for discussing pending economic challenges,
but the scope of discussion is now expanding into politics and security issues. The Seoul
G20 Summit, I hope, will contribute to promoting peace in Northeast Asia and the Korean
Peninsula. For the summit meeting to become a key vehicle for exploring global agendas,
not only the economy but also other issues such as politics and security should be discussed
at the meeting. Furthermore, a new proposal about the future of the G20 summit should be
made so that it can move forward on a fresh impetus after the Seoul meeting.
However, it remains unclear whether the G20 summit can produce a consensus about
issues that require international cooperation in the aftermath of the latest financial crisis. If
the G20 summit continues, the participating countries should feel the need for it together
while taking steps not to sideline other non-member countries. The combined economic
power of the G20 members accounts for more than 85 percent of the global GDP, but the
number of countries outside the G20 but included in the United Nations is 172. Korea,
which hosts the forthcoming G20 summit, should make efforts to reflect the positions of
other developing and poverty-stricken nations as a country that is in a transition from a developing nation into an advanced one.
Equally important is consensus-building about the agendas at the summit. As the 20
member nations have different views due to the complicated conflict of interest, an agreement requires a fairly high level of diplomacy of the hosting country.
If a Seoul Initiative or Seoul Agenda is to be announced after the participants work out
all the obstacles and take productive measures, the summit will be surely deemed an initial
success. A Seoul Initiative or Seoul Agenda would set a new milestone for the global economy, Koreas national status and brand value will also get a significant boost. For Korea, the
summit will provide a great opportunity to change Korea Discount, a negative image linked
to the security factor of North Korea, into Korea Premium. Therefore, Korea is in no position to forgo this make-or-break chance.
Some of the various topics to be discussed at the summit could use Koreas unique
experience. For instance, the stake repositioning in the International Monetary Fund is a
tricky issue that involves the conflict of interest among the participating countries, but Korea might be able to suggest a compromise that meets the demands of both the advanced
and developing nations. Setting up a financial safety net is also an issue that can incorporate
Koreas experience in overcoming the 1997 financial crisis in a short period of time. Koreas
success story can be fodder for inspiration when it comes to the economic development
6
of developing and other poverty-stricken nations. Korea is the one and only country in the
world which has shifted from a country receiving aid to a country offering aid. In this regard, Korea will be able to provide a model of self-reliance instead of a simple aid model
without hurting the pride of other developing countries.
Another essential element for the success of the Seoul G20 Summit is to ensure security. There are many international conferences marred by illegal rallies or cyber-terrorism.
The third World Trade Organization ministerial meeting held in Seattle is remembered as an
infamous event, as it was seriously undermined by a large group of demonstrators. The G8
summit was held in Genoa, Italy, in 2001, but the meeting suffered seriously as more than
150,000 anti-globalization demonstrators staged strong protest rallies. The 2003 World Trade
Organization ministerial meeting was also canceled as a Korean farmer and activist committed suicide in protest of the opening of the farming industry.
It is feared that anti-globalization activists are likely to stage illegal rallies at the Seoul
G20 Summit in November. Illegal and violent demonstrations could derail Koreas efforts to
upgrade its international status and national brand image. In a worst-case scenario, such negative development could hurt the countrys overall image. The Korean government should
take every measure against illegal demonstrators and cyber terrorists by working closely with
the immigration department and related authorities. Close cooperation with other countries
to prevent terrorism is also in order.
In consideration of the risk factors, the Seoul G20 Summit is no blessing. A closer look
at the details of the event shows that the summit meeting is a burden and obligation at a
national level. Although the summit does not require investment in new stadiums like the
Olympics and World Cup finals, Korea could lose a lot if the event turns out to be a failure.
But we do not need to worry too much. I strongly believe that Korea will focus its national
resources effectively and pull off a successful hosting of the summit.
I recommend that heads of state and first ladies of the G20, as well as other participants enjoy the beautiful autumn of Korea and visit a number of places where the countrys
time-honored tradition and culture are well preserved. I also recommend traditional Korean
cuisine, which will certainly provide an once-in-a-lifetime experience to the G20 participants.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
Cover Story : Korean Media Overview
General Trends in the

Korean Press in 2010
Shim Jae-chul
NEWSPAPERS
Approximately a quarter century ago when I

was a graduate student in Seattle, Washington, I contributed one article to the Granite
Tower, a campus English newspaper in
Seoul, Korea.
It argued that the Korean Press had developed to the level of the First World mass
media in terms of newspaper readership,
number of TV sets and radio receivers,
and theater seats per 1,000 persons. Those
statistics cited in the UN reports in the
1980s indicated that Koreans average media
use behaviors were nearly comparable to,
or slightly lower, than that of the citizens
in the United States, England, and Japan.
Nevertheless, the Korean media system was
controlled by an authoritarian government
during that period. In fact, the Korean press
has suffered from severe government control for a substantial period of time since
the new Republic was established in 1948.
Freedom of press and peoples access to
diverse opinions have not been guaranteed
8
for various reasons including national security concerns stemming from the military
confrontation between South and North
Koreas.
As many journalism and communication
scholars in South Korea remember, the military government took power after the ironstrong President Park Jung-hee was assassinated in 1979 and enacted the Basic Press
Law in 1980. The government enforced
this oppressive law and imposed barriers
separating different sectors of the media
industry. The law prohibited newspaper
companies from owning television stations
and vice versa; with the same regulation, the
law prohibited terrestrial TV networks from
entering the newspaper industry. Since then,
joint ownership and management between
newspapers and television stations has been
prohibited in South Korea.
Provided that the Republic of Korea
Shim Jae-chul
shim@korea.ac.kr
Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Korea
University
became democratized after the Peoples

Power of 1987, the National Assembly has
amended the media law several times and
attempted to tear down the wall that had
blocked many media groups from entering
the television industry. Finally, the Grand
National Party has proposed a new law to
allow more competition in the media industry in 2009, and the current Lee Myung-bak
Administration implemented a new media
policy to support Korean media groups to
have global competitive advantage.
After Korean mass media were merged
and consolidated pursuant to the Basic Press
Law, only 25 daily newspapers remained in
South Korea in the 1980s. Among them, six
newspaper companies were located in the
Seoul metropolitan area and they were distributed nationwide. Their circulation size
was about 700,000 copies each.
Approximately 30 years later, more than
100 dailies are published across the country
in South Korea. The so-called Big Three
newspapers, including the Dong-A, Chosun,
and JoongAng dailies, claim to publish over
two million copy each daily. Nevertheless,
the total household subscription rate of the
Korean newspapers has dropped almost
half over the last 10 years. More than 10
dailies around the Seoul metropolitan area
are currently circulated nationwide while the
newspaper circulation has decreased across
the nation. Seven economic and financial
dailies are published in South Korea, indicating that economic and business newspapers are flourishing in the country, especially
through and after the Asian financial crisis
of 1997.
For the last 30 years, the Korean press has
been democratized, while the competition

in the newspaper industry for survival has
become keen and severe. They are attempting to overcome this sort of profit-declining
crisis and adjust to the new media environment in the open and capitalistic society.
The Korean press has certainly entered the
multi-media era in which media convergence
has been technologically feasible.
This article will review and highlight current issues and recent developments of the
Korean press in 2010.
1. Act for Guarantee of Freedom

and Functions of Newspapers
(the new Law on Newspapers)
After the amended Law on Newspapers was

passed by the National Assembly in June
2010, license guidelines for selecting new
comprehensive-program and all-news CableTV channels have been prepared through
debates in various public forums. On September 17 of this year, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) approved
the basic plan for the selection guidelines of
cross-media ownership. Detailed guidelines
for selecting comprehensive programming
and all-news Cable-TV channels will be
finalized following November this year. If
the guidelines are smoothly implemented
and the interested stakeholders and media
groups accept those guidelines, the KCC
will choose a number of newspaper companies and grant them licenses to launch
comprehensive programming and all-news
digital TV channels. Further, the new Law
on Newspapers has abolished the ban that
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
prevents the cross ownership of newspaper,

news wire and broadcasting companies in
terms of share and stake purchase.
However, there have been various speculations that the government does not
have a strong volition to implement this
law and thus will not make a final decision on the final winners of the license.
As a matter of fact, there has been a delay
even in implementing the new media law.
The KCC has been slow in this process
of selecting the possible beneficiaries of
business licenses.
It is widely known that such five major
newspaper companies as Dong-A Ilbo,
Chosunilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, Maeil Business
Newspaper and Korea Economic Daily will
apply for the licenses. The KCC appears
to be straddling the fence, most likely because the government needs to deal with
those newspapers appropriately.
These newspaper groups have waged
aggressive campaigns to win the licenses
for the sake of their survival in the media
market. Because of this keen competition, the KCC seemed to have decided to
employ the approach of absolute evaluation, which means that every candidate
who meets the requirements can qualify
for the license for cross-media ownership.
By this logic, it is also possible that the
Korea Communications Committee may
not grant joint ownership to any newspaper companies by arguing that they are
not able to meet the absolute guidelines.
The following question is thus left to be
resolved: what are the criteria for the absolute evaluation guidelines?
The policy objective for granting the
10
joint-ownership license to newspapers

companies for the comprehensive programming channels has been to promote
the content industry in order to make the
Korea media group globally competitive
and to help the society more free and
open to the diverse opinions in the public
sphere. It remains to be seen whether the
KCC will achieve these police objectives
by allowing the newspaper companies to
start comprehensive-program digital TV
stations.
2. The New Requirement of the

Audit Bureau of Circulations
Verification for Government
Advertising in Newspapers and
Magazines
The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) of

South Korea is a circulation-auditing organization. It audits circulation, readership, and
audience information for newspapers, magazines, and other publications publicized by
its members. The ABC provides credible,
verified information critical to the media
buying and selling process by conducting
independent, third-party audits of print
circulation, readership and Website traffic
activity.
Historically, Korean newspaper companies
have not participated in the ABC verification of their readership size. Accordingly,
there was no way of exactly knowing about
how many copies they print each day and
what percentage of them are paid-circulation.
The Lee Myung-bak Administration an-
nounced last year that newspaper companies

must become members of the ABC and
report their circulation size to the ABC in
order to secure government advertising in
their publications.
This directive issued by the Prime Minister on October 6, 2009 became effective in
January 2010. Due to this new requirement,
newspaper companies have joined the ABC
verification of their circulation size. In 2009,
among 238 members only six newspapers
including the JoongBu Maeil, Jeonbuk Ilbo,
Nongmin Shinmun, Metro, AM7 and joined
the verification process. Further, 23 magazine companies also joined the verification
process last year.
This figure has increased significantly
to 208 newspapers this year. In 2010, the
number of newspapers which have joined
the ABC verification includes 97 dailies and
111 weeklies. Among them, 33 newspapers
including economic and business dailies are
distributed nationwide and 58 dailies are
distributed in the local and regional community. Six dailies have been distributed free of
charge in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Yet there have been unresolved issues
regarding the ABC new standards of paid
subscriptions. The ABCs new amendment
defines paid-newspapers as those subscriptions requiring 50% of the monthly price
of subscription. Previously, if the paid subscriptions were 80% of the monthly price,
then they were recognized as paid-newspapers. The ABC argued that the new rate of
paid subscription must be lowered since the
general public tends to read the newspapers
based on bargain prices due to the aggressive marketing of newspaper companies.
Local sellers of newspapers also operate

independently from the newspaper companies and they offer discount prices for new
subscriptions.
3. The Recovery of Newspaper

Readership and Advertising
Revenue
Amid sweeping structural changes within

the print media industry, the overall media
environment has grown unfavorable to the
off-line newspaper sector. The rapid rise of
other media outlets such as the internet and
mobile phone has reduced the profit margins of the print media. In order to survive,
this nearly antiquated medium must compete with new media to secure the media
users attention and advertising revenues.
A biannual survey in 2008 by the Korea
Press Foundation revealed that only 36.8%
of Korean households subscribed to newspapers, evidencing a continuous drop. The Korean households newspaper subscription was
69.3% in 1996, just one year before the Asian
financial crisis. Since then, this rate has been
continuously dropped to 36.8% in 2008.
This years subscription has not yet been
compiled by the Foundation.
As the statistics indicate in Table 1, however, the rate dropped continuously from
69.3% in 1996 to 52.9% in 2002 and to 40%
in 2006. In particular, subscription rates for
the younger generation have declined significantly; only 25% of readers in their 20s
and 29% of those in their 30s subscribe to
newspapers these days.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
11
Table 1 : The Decline of Newspaper Subscriptions in South Korea

Year
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
Subscription Rate (%)
69.3
64.5
59.8
52.9
48.3
40.0
36.8
*Source: Korea Press Foundation
The newspaper industry is facing a deepening crisis at the sales level as well. In
2009, advertising revenues for newspapers
dropped by 9.5% to 1.50 trillion Korean
won from the year before. In 2008, advertising revenues was 1.66 trillion won, indicating a 6.9% drop from 1.78 trillion won in
2007. The advertising figure of 2010 has
not been reported yet.
Nevertheless, the Korean economy is
recovering rapidly from the recent global
recession in 2008 and followed by increased
advertising revenues for newspapers. One
of the surprises in the Korean newspaper
industry is the fact that none of the major
dailies have gone bankrupt thus far, although
the nation went through several times of significant economic troubles. More to it, cable
TV networks and online media experienced
a noticeable growth in their advertising revenues while the world suffered from the Wall
Street-led economic downturn.
4. Law on Supporting the

Development of Local
Newspapers
This special law effective for limited time

has supported the local newspapers, which
would have gone down if they had not received outside aids. The National Assembly
extended the effectiveness of this law until
the end of 2016. Since this law was tempo12
rary, it would have terminated on June 10,

2010 if there were no extension. Locality
is one of the important characteristics in
the diversity of news and public opinions.
This law aims to provide local newspapers
with financial relief through various indirect measures including upgrades of gatekeeping and news production. It also offers
local journalists an opportunity to improve
their professionalism through educational
programs, as much as help them to adjust to
the new technological media environment.
Meanwhile, the members of the Committee
for the Development of Local Newspapers
have completed their second terms, and the
new members will handle the third term of
the Committee.
5. Korean newspapers
development of the Online News
Applications for Smart Phones
The Korea Online Newspaper Association

(KONA) began providing its own portal
news to smart phones and has made its application available to the Galaxy S smart
phones since May 28, 2010.
The Galaxy S, a new mobile product from
Samsung Electronics, has competed with
the Apples iPhone. As a kind of old media,
Korean newspapers admit that they have
been losing their battle with portal news
sites powerlessly for the last 10 years.
When the new smart phone was introduced to the market, they became vigilant
and paid special attention to the new media
development. In keeping this point in mind,
the KONA has developed the news application for smart phones called On News and
made it pre-installed in the basic application
menu of the Galaxy S.
The KONA members are the dot.com
companies of the following off-line newspapers: The Kyunghyang Daily News, Kukmin
Daily Newspaper, Dong-A Ilbo, Maeil Business Newspaper, Seoul Shinmun, Segye Times,
Chosunilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, Electronic Times,
Hankook Ilbo, Hankyoreh, and Korea Economic Daily. These dot.com companies have
not been successful in competing with news
portal companies such as Daum, Google,
Naver, and Yahoo. These daily newspapers
are attempting to charge small fees for the
users of the On News application. Nevertheless, it is not certain whether this business model of On News will be successful
in the smart phone market.
CONCLUSION AND
SUGGESTIONS
The year of 2010 has been special to the
Korean people. It has been one hundred
years since Japan colonized Chosun, the
Yi dynasty of Korea. This year is also the
sixtieth anniversary of the outbreak of the
Korean War in 1950. As noted in the intro-
duction of this article, 30 years have passed

since the new military government passed
the Basic Press Law and set up the barriers
separating the media industry sectors from
each other. Since then, both Korean daily
newspapers and broadcasting companies
have grown tremendously, in tune with the
fast development of the Korean economy
for the last 30 years.
During this 30-year period, the Republic
of Korea has experienced two periods of
economic downturn. The first was the Asian
financial crisis in 1997; the second, the Wall
Street-led global recession in 2008. South
Korea has been successfully overcoming
these economic hardships. Meanwhile, the
Korean newspaper industry has stagnated
and its profit margin dropped significantly.
Its business loss will be larger than any other sector of the Korean economy. Nevertheless, there appear to be positive signs that
Korean newspaper industry is recovering
with higher advertising revenues and getting
ready to fight back in the new media environment. As the barriers are abolished in
Korean media industry, Korean newspapers
will find new avenues for advancements.
They hope to flourish again by adjusting
to the new media environment. Thus, right
now, many stakeholders are vigilantly watching the final result of the battle for obtaining the joint ownership license of the comprehensive programming digital channels.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
13
Yoon Suk-nyoon
1. Current Korean Broadcasting

Environment
The Korean broadcasting industry has

confronted new challenges after the new
government was launched in 2008. The new
government established the Korean Communications Commission (KCC) to regulate
the both broadcasting and telecommunication fields, after simultaneously abolishing the Korean Broadcasting Commission
(KBC) and the Ministry of Information and
Communication.
The new government initiated the reorganization of the government agency responsible for broadcasting and communications
policies and regulations, recognizing the fact
that the boundary between the broadcasting and communications sector had been
blurred. The KCC allowed newspaper businesses can own broadcasting companies,
and also opened the broadcasting industry
to the conglomerates and foreign enterprises to strengthen the global competitiveness of Korean broadcasting industry. The
Korean National Assembly amended the
14
broadcasting and newspaper act in July 2009

to allow new capital and businesses to enter the broadcasting industry. The Korean
broadcasting industry has become a very
competitive market after the amendment of
the regulation.
In 2008 and 2009, the Korean broadcasting industry suffered from the global economic crisis and its revenues and profits
decreased sharply. Many broadcasting companies recorded losses.
The Korean broadcasting industry provides various services including terrestrial
broadcasting. Each broadcasting sector has
secured enough subscribers and they strive
to achieve more penetration by providing
good quality contents.
1) Terrestrial Broadcasting
The Korean television broadcasting system has maintained multiple public broadcasting companies and one private company
since 1987. There are 24 public television
Yoon Suk-nyoon
suknyoon@gwangju.ac.kr
professor, Department of Mass communication, Gwangju University
stations, including KBS, MBC, EBS and

local networks. In the private sector, there
are 15 local TV stations including SBS, and
many specialized broadcasting stations including religious and transportation stations.
The total revenue of the Korean terrestrial
broadcasting stations was $2.85 billion in
2009. Its total number of employees was
about 13,800.
Korean Broadcasting System (KBS),
which is Koreas representative public
broadcasting system, received the call sign
HLKA from ITU in 1947 after liberation
from Japan. KBS has been growing since its
conversion to the public broadcasting system in 1973. Now KBS operates 2 terrestrial
TV channels and 1 satellite TV channel, and
7 radio channels. It also operates 4 terrestrial DMB channels. The revenues from this
in 2009 were $1.15 billion, and the number
related employees is about 5,200. KBS also
owns and operates 18 local networks, and
5 cable program providers. The president
of KBS is selected from the 11 committee
members whom are appointed by the National Assembly. The terms of the president
and committee members are 3 years. Another public broadcasting system for education
is EBS (Korea Educational Broadcasting
System). In 2009, EBS operated 1 terrestrial
TV channel and 2 satellite TV channels and
1 radio channel. EBS also operates 1 terrestrial DMB channel.
MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) is a different type of public broadcasting station. As of 2009, MBC operates 1
terrestrial TV channel and 3 radio channels.
MBC also operates 2 terrestrial DMB channels and 1 satellite DMB channel. The rev-
enues in 2009 totaled $560 million. If MBC

includes its 19 local networks revenues, the
revenues increased to $860 million. The
number of employees is about 3,100 including local networks. MBC also owns and
operates 5 cable program providers and 4
subsidiary companies. The president is appointed by 9 committee members whom
are selected by the National Assembly.
The terms of the president and committee
members are 3 years, the same as KBS.
SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System) is a
private terrestrial broadcasting system and
2010 is its 20th anniversary year. As of 2009,
SBS operates one terrestrial TV channel
and one radio channel, and also has 9 local
networks. The revenues in 2009 were $480
million. The number of employees is about
850. SBS also owns and operates 6 cable
program providers and 8 subsidiary companies. The biggest shareholder is SBS Holdings.
The other broadcaster is iTV/FM, an
independent private network covering
Incheon and Gyeonggi Province.
The terrestrial broadcasting systems
broadcast 19 hours per day on weekdays,
and 20 hours per day on weekends. The
viewer shares of the all terrestrial broadcast
programs total 56%, and this percentage are
decreasing every year. Because of the rapid
developments of paid broadcasting services,
terrestrial broadcasting systems position
is threatened. The terrestrial broadcasting
companies are trying to finish the transfer
to digital broadcasting by December 2012.
2) Cable Broadcasting
Cable television services started in 1995.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
15
Cable broadcasting is provided to 15 million

homes in 2009 in Korea. The penetration is
not competitive with any other broadcasting
service sector. The number of digital cable
subscribers reached 3 million in early 2010.
In the early period of cable broadcasting
the businesses struggled to gain subscribers
because of the competition from the relay
operators (RO). However, after the lifting
the regulations in 1999, the number of subscribers has increased explosively over the
last 10 years. The lifting of the regulations
allowed the vertical integration of system
operators (SO) and program providers (PP),
and also allowed horizontal integration between PPs and MPPs (multiple program
providers). MPPs and MSOs are integrated
to MSPs to control the cable industry. CJ
Media is an example of a huge MSP in the
cable industry.
Five to six MSOs control the cable industry including T-Broad, which owns more
than 20 SOs. There are 103 SOs and over
200 PPs in Korea. Cable System Operators (SO) are divided into 77 areas and they
provide triple-play services (TPS): broadcasting, Internet, and VoIP services. Cable
SOs compete fiercely with IPTV to provide
bundled service discounts. Digital cable
service enlarges their paid service fields to
VOD and data broadcasting, too.
The SO and PPs total revenues in 2009
exceeded the revenues of terrestrial broadcasting companies. The revenues showed
the high status of the cable companies in
Koreas contemporary broadcasting industry. The size of the cable industry is approximately $2.93 billion. If home shopping
channels revenues are included, the cable
16
industry revenues increased to $4.4 billion

in 2009. The number of employees in SO
is about 5,300, PP is approximately 5,800,
and home shopping channels is about 3,300.
The total program share of the cable channels have increased every year, and are set to
exceed the shares of the terrestrial broadcasting channels in near future. Superstar
K2, the latest popular program from the
Mnet cable channel, garnered a viewer share
of 14% in September 2010. This was a new
record in cable channel history, and is one
example of the popularity of cable channels.
3) Satellite Broadcasting
Satellite broadcasting service started in
Korea in 2002 with a single consortium.
They had struggled to attract subscribers
in the early days because of the insufficient
participation of the terrestrial broadcasting
channels and program providers. However,
they provided digital broadcasting services
and the service became known to everybody, and they gained many subscribers.
Since 2006 they have gained more than 2
million subscribers, and the satellite broadcasting system has spread to people who
live in island and mountain areas. In many
of those areas, cable and terrestrial broadcasting services are not available because
of the geographical barriers. There are 2.5
million satellite broadcasting subscribers
as of March 2010. The revenues in 2009
were $340 million, and they have enjoyed
a surplus every year since 2006. With this
level of subscribers and revenues they can
survive in the paid broadcasting industry.
They have increased the number of HD
channels since 2008, and will provide 72

HD channels by the end of 2010. They
have VOD and data broadcasting services,
too. The growth of digital cable penetration
in rural areas is slow, and satellite broadcasting targets a niche market by providing HD
channels in rural areas. They also provide
a 3D-only channel too. By providing these
differentiated services they enhance their
image in Koreas paid broadcasting market.
4) Digital Multimedia Broadcasting
SK Telecom and a Japanese joint venture
company launched satellite DMB (Digital
Multimedia Broadcasting) service in May
2005. Satellite DMB is a type of mobile
broadcasting service which is broadcast to
mobile devices such as mobile phones, car
navigation systems, and PMPs. Paid subscribers can receive one premium channel,
25 video channels and 16 audio channels.
Even though they have secured more than
2 million paid subscribers they have still
struggled with large deficits.
Regular terrestrial DMB services were
launched in the Metropolitan area in December 2005. The existing terrestrial
broadcasting companies (KBS, MBC, SBS)
provide 3 channels and the remaining 3
channels were assigned to the new entrants.
The broadcasting areas are divided into 6
local areas, and 3 terrestrial broadcasting
companies can provide DMB services in
each area except Seoul and its surrounding
area. Since then, the service has expanded
rapidly based on being free of charge and
the provision of handsets bundled with
mobile communications services, reaching
21,553,000 in cumulative sales by the second
quarter of 2009. There are no subscription

fees with terrestrial DMB. Revenue sources
come from commercials only. With this
profit structure all terrestrial DMB service
providers have recorded a loss every year
since launching the service. The commercial
revenues have not met the DMB service
companies expectations.
The KCC has prepared various regulatory
plans, such as a transition to paid services
and DMB 2.0. However, such attempts have
not worked so far. The possibility of profit
does not seem high enough compared to
the prevalence of DMB devices.
5) IPTV
With the enforcement of the IPTV Business Act by the National Assembly in April
2008, a systematic basis for the commercialization of IPTV was established. Subsequently, in November 2008, the era of IPTV
began as KT transmitted real time broadcasting through IPTV for the first time in
Korea. SK Broadband and LG Dacom also
started to provide real-time IPTV services
in January 2009.
The average number of IPTV channels is
84 as of 2009, and IPTV operators provide
various specialized channels such as education, health, tourism and military channels.
With the entering of the big 3 telecommunication companies to the broadcasting
industry the existing paid broadcasting companies can confront extreme competition
with IPTVs.
Both cable and IPTV companies compete
to provide various bundled services, such as
triple play services.
The number of Korean households that
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
17
subscribe to IPTV exceeded 2.4 million as

of September 2010, including VOD based
IPTV subscribers. The fact that the number
of subscribers surpassed 2 million meant
that IPTV has settled down quickly as a new
platform, and the convergence of broadcasting and communication brought some
results in real terms.
6) Internet and Smartphone Service
Koreas high speed Internet service is
known as the best in the world. There were
more than 16 million high-speed Internet
subscribers as of 2009. The high speed Internet penetration percentage is 85%. Even
the number of high speed mobile Internet
(WiBro) subscribers exceeded 310,000.
Lately mobile Internet service areas (WiFi
Zones) have been expanded to provide the
people with mobile Internet services. KT
and SK Telecom increase the mobile Internet service area with fast speed.
With the introduction of the iPhone at
the end of 2009 the smartphone industry
has exploded, with an expected 6 million
subscribers in less than a year. This figure
means that 15% of all mobile phone subscribers are smartphone users. Thousands
of smartphone applications have been developed in the domestic smartphone market.
And many experts expect the smartphone
will dominate the mobile phone industry in
the near future.
2. The Future of Korean

Broadcasting Industry
The Korean broadcasting industry con18
fronted a new environment in 2009. The

terrestrial broadcasting companies cannot
maintain their dominant positions. Instead,
other paid broadcasting sectors have enlarged their power in the industry, including
cable TV, satellite TV, and IPTV. Countless
broadcasting platforms and multi-channels
have emerged with rapid development of
broadcasting technology. However, the advertisement revenues for the broadcasting
industry have not grown to level expected
by the industry. The Korean National Assembly passed media related acts in July
2009 that could shake the all sectors of
Korean broadcasting. Newspaper companies can now own broadcasting companies,
which was strictly prohibited before. Korean
broadcasting markets are even open to the
conglomerates and foreign capital, and vertical and horizontal integration is possible
after the new broadcasting acts.
In 2010 the broadcasting industry in Korea is experiencing a continued reshuffle
in various sectors. For example, telecommunications companies, conglomerates,
newspaper companies, and foreign capital
can enter the broadcasting industry. M&As
between media companies, the introduction
of media-reps to the advertising sector, and
the advent of general PP channels and news
PP channels will accelerate the change of
Koreas broadcasting industry in 2010. The
existing terrestrial broadcasting companies
and new companies will enter extreme competition for viewers and subscribers.
Exports of Korean broadcasting programs have shrunk since 2007. The exports
revenue of Korean contents have stopped
at $100 million. The related departments
expect a repetition of the Korean Wave, but

a regain of the popularity of Korean broadcasting contents overseas does not seem
easy with the slump in domestic broadcasting industries. With this in mind the KCC
and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are preparing various plans to support
the broadcasting, gaming, animation, movie
and K-POP industries gain global competitive power.
Many broadcasting advertising regulations have been alleviated to strengthen
the competitive power in the broadcasting
contents industry. Indirect advertisements
such as PPL and virtual advertisements are
allowed in broadcasting programs. The advent of new media reps will secure sources
of revenue to make good quality broadcasting programs. Domestic and foreign capital
can bring big media conglomerates into the
broadcasting market. Financial support from

domestic and foreign countries can make
creating high-quality programs possible, and
these programs will be globally competitive.
Korean broadcasting companies are expected to become global competitive power
by producing high-quality content. Appropriate broadcasting regulations and policies
should be prepared at the proper time to
make this goal possible. Broadcasting should
not be dependent solely on the marketplace
or private sectors to guarantee the diversity
of public opinion and public interests. The
Korean broadcasting industry should try
to provide diverse broadcasting services to
audiences, and related government departments should also make the regulations and
policies to assure fair competition between
broadcasting service providers.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
19
Landscape of New Media

Industry in Korea
Hwang Yong-suk
1. The Competition and Growth

of New Media Industry
Korea is described as a state-of-the-art

country in terms of its Information Communication Technology (ICT) and rapid
introduction of advanced communication
technologies (See International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 2009 & Korea
Information Society Development Institute
(KISDI), 2010). The convergence of broadcasting and communication has enabled a
variety of digital media platforms and applications to be distributed more easily in
Korea. The convergence has also increased
competition within the existing media and
communications industry, and formed
combinations of consumer use patterns different from those found in the traditional
media and communications environment.
Coupled with the governments policy
support, the convergent media industry is
becoming the driving force of Korean economic growth. Broadcasting and telecommunication sectors contributed 10.4 percent
20
to GDP in 2009, up from 9.2 percent in

2006 (Korea Communications Commission
(KCC), 2010, p. 6).
1) Industrial Development of
Emerging New Media Technologies
While broadcasting and communication
have been integrated into the convergent
media and caused the traditional broadcasting service market to slow, the market
for new media including IPTV (Internet
Protocol TV), DMB (Digital Multimedia
Broadcasting), and WiBro (Wireless Broadband) has emerged. For instance, the wireless market increased up to 6.5 percent of
the annual average rate between 2005 and
2009 (KCC, 2010, p. 7). As competition not
only between traditional media and emerging new media platforms and applications
but also across these new media platforms
and applications occupies a prominent place
Hwang Yong-suk
prohys@kku.ac.kr
Associate professor, Department of Mass communication,
Konkuk University
in the history of digital era in Korea, attention should be paid to the current development of new media technologies for market
share.
IPTV
IPTV combines Internet networks with
broadcasting content, enabling users not
only to watch real-time and time-shifted
broadcasting programs but also to enjoy
data, audio, text, and graphics on IP broadband networks (KISDI, 2010). In 2007, the
penetration rate of Pre-IPTV service was
only 2.8 percent and placed seventh among
the top 21 countries (KISDI, p. 58). As
of December 2009, the number of IPTV
subscriptions reached 1.74 million (KISDI,
2010). The Korea Communications Commission (KCC), a regulatory body for broadcasting and telecommunications, actively
supported a variety of content provided via
IPTV, such as information-oriented channels providing live educational TV shows,
and programs about defense, agriculture
and fisheries, public health, and tourism, to
help secure a larger subscriber base (KCC,
2010, p. iii).
DMB
Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB)
service publicly used in two types of terrestrial DMB (T-DMB) and satellite DMB
(S-DMB) allows transmission of realtime broadcasting and video-on-demand
programming by providing users with multimedia content through portable terminals.
As of June 2009, the distribution rate of
T-DMB devices was about 20 million, and
reached 40 percent of the population, while
the rate of S-DMB devices was about 2 million (Lee et al., 2010). The KCC also supported a wider and better coverage of DMB
reception as well as the advancement of
next-generation DMB technologies (KCC,
2010).
2) Competition with Existing Media
There is a tendency for IPTV to be characterized as the substitute for cable TV,
while DMB tends to be portrayed as the
alternative to mobile phones. Despite the
lack of a fully established communication
network, IPTV and DMB, which transmit
multimedia content, have the potential to
prevail over existing media in the near future. Cable TV, with an 86 percent penetration rate in households, now overshadows
IPTV due to subscriber base, broadcasting stability, and channel competitiveness
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
21
(KISDI, 2010, p. 75). Nonetheless, the cable

TV industry is operated by relatively small
companies and faces stiff competition from
IPTV operators. The major telecommunication companies Korea Telecom (KT), SK
Broadband, and LGU+ all provide IPTV
services.
Meanwhile, although the mobile telephone market is saturated, indicating a 98.5
percent subscription rate, mobile communications services are increasing the amount
of data they bring to customers through the
introduction of a wide range of tariffs and
pricing schemes in order to keep customers
loyal to the network (KISDI, 2010). Because of these actions, both types of DMB
service would compete not only with each
other but also with mobile telephony for a
share of the market. The DMB industry is,
therefore, applying alternative revenue models, such as promotion of advertising effects
and interactive services, to counter its revenue shortfall (KISDI, 2010).
3) Current Trends and Prospects
In its attempt to accelerate the technological integration of broadcasting with telecommunications, the new media industry
will work to create an appropriate revenue
model and will look to gain revenues from
web-based 2.0 applications, converged
broadcasting and communications media
such as IPTV and DMB, and a wide range
of content creation.
Because these services noticeably fall behind existing media services such as cable
TV and mobile phone services, they cannot
help but consider differentiated profit methods such as bundled package services, add22
on services, and search link services. For

example, the diffusion of DMB devices was
successful in terms of sales and the amount
of investment in infrastructure, but revenues from programming and advertising
are still low. As another example, IPTV operators succeeded in gaining content from
major terrestrial broadcasting networks
KBS, MBC and SBS which had expressed
different positions on the direction of IPTV
development from the selected telecommunication companies. Despite securing the
content, IPTV still has difficulty in supplying it because content providers are under
pressure from cable TV and major terrestrial broadcasting networks.
From the aspect of building infrastructure, the saturated market of traditional
broadcasting and telecommunications, including the mature household broadband
connection rate, may force broadcasting and
telecommunications companies to pioneer a
new market for new media services (e.g., IP
TV 2.0, defined as a mobile version of IP
TV) and invest a great amount of money in
renovating the infrastructure (e.g., the ultra
broadband convergence network, UBcN).
From the aspect of subscriber base and
diverse content creation, Hwang and Yang
(2009) expect that the increasing penetration
of IPTV would enhance users consumption patterns based on the segmentation of
content by genre. This is also relevant to
DMB. Although consumers attitude toward
IPTV and DMB services, which are unfamiliar, may be one of the factors slowing
the diffusion, subscription rates of both
services are expected to increase this year
(KISDI, 2010).
4) Outlook of New Media Policy

A key reason to adopt a new media policy
is that the convergence of broadcasting and
telecommunications contributes to national
economic growth.
Accordingly, the new media policy has
been driven by nurturing the intensive economic environment to induce competition
among all the networks providers, service
providers, and content providers and accelerating the digital transition on a ubiquitous
basis in order to compete for the global
dominance. The Korean government and
KCCs initiative for such growth gives an
impetus to the modification of laws and
regulations associated with new media,
policy making for new media business, and
infrastructure investment for nationwide
coverage.
As part of efforts to generate great momentum, the KCC suggested a plan for
establishing UBcN, which allows users
to transfer data at 1 gigabyte per second on
the fixed line network and at 10 megabytes
per second on the wireless network (Kim,
2009).
The key reason to build up UBcN is to
reinforce the massive IP network that integrates the extensive broadband and mobile
networks, which is only 7 percent of the IPbased fixed-line telephony network (Kim,
2009). Another example is that KCC took
the lead in modifying laws associated with
new media such as amendment of the Internet Multimedia Broadcasting Business
Act to support IP TV service, the media
reform law, and the amendment of the law
for press arbitration to reorganize the web
market of the news industry.
2. Issues and Regulations of

Online News Media
Although online news media led the power

shift in the industry when it hit the market,
changes to regulations and policy making of
the new media industry will also have an impact on the news media industry as a whole.
As newspaper readership declined, newspaper publishers continuously complained
about the news aggregation services provided by Internet portals and search engines
such as DAUM, NAVER, and Yahoo Korea. Issues of online news media have been
raised mainly in relation to the exclusive distribution that Internet portals enjoy through
the news aggregation service and the resultant news market concentration of Internet
portals and their editorial rights over news
stories posted on their websites.
1) The Growing Role of Internet
Portals
Reading news online has become one of
the major activities to Internet users, and
Internet portals and search engines have become the main channel of news consumption. According to a survey conducted by
Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA)
(2009), getting information and data (89.7%)
is the most common task among online activities. The survey results also revealed that
34.7 percent of participants over 12 years
old go online for details about information
acquired from television, newspaper, or radio, and that this percentage accounts for
the highest use rate of participants other
multimedia usage on the Internet (KISA,
2009).
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
23
Internet users considered TV (92.3%) as

the most important information channel,
followed by the Internet (89.8%), while
non-users of the Internet considered TV
(98.9%) as the main information channel,
followed by interpersonal channels such
as family, friends, and co-workers (94.8%)
(KISA, 2009). In parallel with such usual use
patterns of news- and information-seeking
behavior, news and information provided
by online media and Internet portals have
increased. As of 2009, the number of web
publishers and online media officially registered with the local government amounted
to 1399 more than three times as many
registrations as in 2006 (Hwang & Yang, p.
11). The quantitative expansion of online
media and the change of news consumption
patterns to online media rather than newspapers have given online media and portals an
important role.
2) Issues and Problems of Online
Journalism
The increasing role of Internet portals
and search engines in distributing news
stories has brought about a dispute over
whether online news companies should be
operated under the umbrella of the media
reform law. The prolonged debate around a
revenue model and profit-sharing policy between Internet portals and traditional print
media mirrors the fierce rivalry between
Google and the print media in the USA.
Behind the debate, the two rivals held
different positions on the issues of online
journalism and its legal restrictions. Portals
and search engines argued that they did not
create news stories, just published them
24
from corporate partners.

Accordingly, they protested that the implementation of the same legal sanctions as
other news outlets is likely to make unreasonable demands of their services as content providers. They also maintained that
they would make it possible to enforce a
self-regulation system. Print media pointed
to Internet portals and search engines as the
main contributors to their sharp decreases
in revenue and numbers of subscriptions.
Furthermore, changes to the external industrial environment have forced newspaper publishers to switch to new business
methods and practices, such as investing a
large amount of money in upgrading online
versions of their own websites. Newspaper
publishers pointed out several problems
that arise from portals and search engines
carrying news stories: 1) overexposure of
news stories from specific news sources, 2)
editorial rights over news stories, 3) unbalanced composition and choice of news
stories carried on the main page or the news
front page of portals in question, and 4)
using sensational headlines to get attention
(Hwang & Yang, 2009, p. 129).
Despite prolonged arguing from the different positions, regulatory policy associated with portals and online news outlets
has been legitimatized through the media
reform law and amendment of law for press
arbitration.
The underlying principle of the regulatory policy is an increasing demand on the
portals public responsibility for social outcomes and consequences. But these legal restrictions are likely to regulate Internet portals more strongly by imbuing Internet news
services with the role of the press. These

legal restrictions also reflect the shift of the
legal mechanism to a more open environment of news and information distribution
from the closed one that was in favor of
Internet portals. Moreover, from the market
viewpoint of the news industry, the web
market is considered an arena for conflicting
interests, between newspapers as news providers and Internet portals as informationmediated providers.
3) Regulatory Policy and Legal
Sanctions Associated with Internet
Portals
Under the media reform law, which passed
through the national assembly in September 2009, web-based online news outlets
including Internet portals are held to the
same legal restrictions as print media and
broadcasting companies. Online news media
are able to strengthen journalistic integrity
by adhering to stricter editorial standards
and ethical codes of conduct. Consistent
with the new media policy, the legal restrictions are also likely to contribute to raising
the competitive environment for news and
information in the web market arena, with
portals market concentration reduced.
However, the application of stronger
legal sanctions to Internet portals and not
to print media could be problematic. For
example, some provisions include such
stricter sanctions on Internet portals as 1)
being accountable for the arrangement of
news stories and being open to the standards used in making the arrangement, 2)
agreeing to revise a news story if the news
source indicates it needs to be revised, and
3) making an obvious distinction between

posted comments and news stories (Hwang
& Yang, pp. 147-8). Consequently, it may be
unfair to force Internet portals to adhere to
these compulsory provisions on top of the
terms they already adhere to in the conditional contracts they make with corporate
partners.
In addition, under the amendment of the
law on press arbitration, which was passed
in February 2009, web-based news outlets
assume the same legal and public responsibilities as offline news outlets if disputes
arise because of news stories posted on
their websites. This law is based on the identification of news reports of news producers and news distribution of informationmediated providers. Under this law, victims
damaged by a specific news story can request a correction as well as a right of reply.
In conclusion, because of the officially
authorized changes, information-mediated
providers are regulated under the legal
framework as traditional media are. The legal applications confer on Internet portals
the role of the press the enhancement
of social responsibility due to dramatically
increased readership, the editorial control
over news stories posted on their websites,
and the function of agenda-setting and
its influence on public opinion formation
(Hwang & Yang, pp.129-131). However, the
uniform application of the law, regardless
of whether Internet portals serve as content
providers, may greatly undermine the autonomy of service providers.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
25
REFRRENCES
Ham, C. H., O, S. B., Kwak, J. H., Na, S. W., & Chun, B. C. (2010). KISDI Issue Report:
Study on the IP Market In and out of Korea and its Implications. Korea Information Society Development Institute. Retrieved from http://www.kisdi.re.kr/kisdi/
fp/kr/publication/selectResearch.do?cmd=fpSelectResearch&sMenuType=6&cont
rolNoSer=28&controlNo=442&langdiv=2
Hwang, Y. S., & Yang, S. H. (2009). 2009 Online Journalism of Korea. Seoul: Korea
Press Foundation.
International Telecommunication Union. (2009). Measuring the Information Society:
The ICT Development Index. Retrieved from http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/idi/2009/material/IDI2009_w5.pdf
Kim, T. H. (2009, February). Is $25 Bil. Info Ultra Highway Plan Full of Hot
Air?, Korea Times. Retrieved from http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/
tech/2009/02/133_38803.html
Kim, W. Y. & Lee, D. H. (2006).
Korea Communications Commission (KCC). (2010). 2009 Korea Communications
Commission Annual Report. Retrieved from http://eng.kcc.go.kr/user.do?mode=vi
ew&page=E02020000&dc=E02020000&boardId=1053&cp=1&boardSeq=29068
Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI). (2010). 2010 Media and
Communication Outlook of Korea. Retrieved from http://www.kisdi.re.kr/kisdi/
upload/attach/Outlook%202010.pdf
Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA). (2009). Survey on the Internet Usage. Retrieved from http://isis.nida.or.kr/board/index.jsp?pageId=040000&bbsId=7&ite
mId=730&pageIndex=2
Lee, H. Y., Kim, D. J., Ryu, J. H., & Lee, S. J. (in-press). Acceptance and Rejection of
Mobile TV among Young Adults: A Case of College Students in South Korea. Informatics and Telematics. doi:10.1016/j.tele.2010.04.002.
26
A History of Koreas Media:

Fighting Against Japanese Colonialism
and Then for Democracy and Freedom
Chong Chin-sok
1. Port Opening and Emergence

of Newspapers
Until the mid-19th century, Korea was the

least known and visited country for the
West (G.N. Curzon, Problems of the Far East,
1894). With the number of Westerners visiting Korea increasing prior to and following its port opening in 1876, many books
informing Westerners of Korea were published. Korea, nonetheless, was a forbidden
land (Ernest Oppert, 1880) and a hermit
nation (W.E. Griffis, 1882).
Books written by Westerners described
Korea as a country falling behind the civilized world and alienated from the international stage. American astronomer Percival
Lowells portrayal of Korea as the land of
morning calm (Chosun, The Land of Morning Calm, 1885), has settled down as the
most friendly idiom symbolizing Korea.
The Morning Calm, an English missionary
journal the Anglican Church published and
distributed to many countries from July

1890 to October 1939, played the role of a
public relations ambassador on behalf of
Korea. The adoption of the land of morning calm as the catchphrase of the poster
publicizing the 1988 Seoul Olympics originated from Lowells book and the Anglican
Church journal.
Major world events attracting global attention to Korea were the Sino-Japanese War
(1894) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904).
In the wars waged by their neighboring
powers, the Koreans were pitiful victims,
unable to act as the master of the Korean
Peninsula. The Western press in general
merely described detachedly the sights of
the oppressed people being trodden under
the hooves of foreign cavalry.
Newspapers acted as a window through
Chong Chin-sok
presskr@empas.com
Emeritus Professor, Journalism & Communications,
Hankuk University of Foreign studies
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
27
which the people of the hermit kingdom

could look at the world. They also performed the role of a textbook teaching the
public the cultures, political systems and
social phenomena of advanced countries.
Inaugurating the Office of Culture and
Information (Bakmunguk), the Chosun
government inaugurated the Hanseong Sunbo
(Hanseong is one of the old names of
Seoul and Sunbo means a paper published
on every 10th day) on October 31, 1883,
the first-ever newspaper of Korea. As the
Orient observed the lunar calendar dividing
a month into three parts - the early, middle
and last parts, the paper was published every
ten days.
Koreas first newspaper came into being
when the country began to open itself under pressures from world powers. Beginning
with the conclusion of a friendship treaty
with Japan in 1876, Korea concluded similar
treaties with a number of Western countries,
namely with the United States in 1882, Britain in 1883, Germany also in 1883, Russia in
1884 and France in 1886. Japan and Western
powers scrambled for concessions in Korea,
which lacked experience in negotiating with
foreign countries.
Newspapers began to root themselves in
a tense situation in which the fate of the
country was at risk. They started with the
dual missions of enlightening the public by
positively accommodating advanced countries cultures and ideas on the one hand,
and safeguarding the nations tradition and
independence against foreign aggression on
the other. In the West, newspapers gradually
developed over a long period of time after
starting with the mission of conveying in28
formation needed for daily lives. Undergoing the process of forming public opinions
and increasing political influence, they were
able to maintain the format of joint-stock
companies, in which they could manage
themselves independently on readership
fees and advertising revenues. But the primary function of Korean newspapers was
to reform society by helping awaken the
public and offering them knowledge. They
had little perception of making ends meet
in management.
2. Hanseong Sunbo and

Hanseong Weekly Published
by Government
In its inaugural issue, the Hanseong Sunbo

declared that its mission would be to report
the land area, the size of the population,
the racial or ethnic makeup, the scale of
armament, as well as the history, literature,
culture and all other aspects, of every nation
on earth with the aim of promoting the
wellbeing of our people and safeguarding
our national sovereignty for a long time to
come.
Following about a year-long publication,
the newspaper had to suspend its issuance
in December 1884 when the Office of Culture and Information, where it was printed,
was burnt down in the coup detat of 1884.
The government launched the Hanseong
Weekly, an improved format, in February
1884, however. The weeklys publication was
suspended in July 1888 due to financial difficulties. The nations first newspaper made a
remarkable achievement by conveying wide-
ranging news on foreign culture, history,

politics, geography and economy as well as
introducing scholarly attainments overseas.
But the governments budget shortage and
the small size of its readership forced it to
close down.
The social and economic conditions were
not mature enough to ensure the independent management of a newspaper.
After the Hanseong Weekly went out of existence, the nation saw eight years pass with
no newspaper. During that interval, Japanese began to publish the Chosen Simbun, a
commerce-oriented Japanese language paper
published in Incheon, a port city and gateway to Seoul. Chosen is the Japanese pronunciation of Chosun, the name of Korea
at the time. North Korea still uses Chosun
as its name. The paper was launched on January 28, 1890. What Incheon was to Seoul
can be compared to what Yokohama was to
Tokyo. In the 19th century, Yokohama was a
foothold for Japans foreign trade. Its a city
that published Japans first newspaper and
home to the Newspaper Museum, established by the Japan Association of Newspaper Publishers.
The Chosen Simbun, swimming with the
tide of Japans accelerating invasion of Korea, expanded its strength and developed
further and further. Moving its head office
to Seoul, the daily continued its publication until 1942. Preceding the Chosen Simbun was the Jinsen Keijo Kakushu Shobo, a
biweekly commercial journal published in
the Incheon-Seoul area that evolved into a
weekly, an every-other-day paper and then a
daily.
Japan pushed ahead with its invasion of
the Hanseong Sunbo
Korea mainly through four means - military

might, diplomacy, economics and the press.
The Hanseong Sinbo, inaugurated on February 16, 1895 in Seoul with secret funding
from Japans foreign ministry, was the first
output of its invasion policy. A bilingual daily in Korean and Japanese, the paper started
to argue in favor of Japans conquering of
Korea. Japanese assassins who conspired in
the assassination of Queen Min used the
papers office as their secret base of operation.
Following the Russo-Japanese War, Japan
published a number of Korean-language
newspapers and used them as news outlets
publicizing its invasion on the one hand,
and induced papers published by Koreans
to follow the tone of argument friendly to
Japan by employing repression and appeasement policies simultaneously on the other.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
29
3. The First Private Newspaper
It was the Independence Club (Dongnip

Hyeophoe) that spread the enlightenment
movement in the latter half of the 1890s.
Playing the pivotal role in the drive was
the Independent (Dongnip Sinmun), a private newspaper inaugarated by Soh Jae-pil
(Philip Jaisohn: November 28, 1863-January
5, 1951), a pioneer of the enlightenment
movement, on April 7, 1896. The English
version of the Independent, which Soh Jaepil published alongside its Korean version,
was the first newspaper that informed Westerners of fresh news about Korea and corrected mistaken notions about Korea.
Soh Jae-pil, studying Chinese classics
while young, passed the highest-level state
the Independent (Dongnip Sinmun)
30
examination to recruit ranking officials during the Chosun Dynasty. But he went to
Japan in May 1883 to study the Japanese
language at Keio Gijuku (Keio Academy),
a private school run by Yukichi Fukuzawa,
for six months. He then entered Doyama
Army Academy in or around November
and undertook military education. He was
commissioned an officer upon returning
home in late July 1884. On December 4 that
year, Soh Jae-pil took part in the coup detat
masterminded by radical reformists Kim
Ok-kyun and Pak Young-ho. With the coup
aborted, he emigrated himself to the United
States by way of Japan. His family members,
condemned as traitors, were either executed
or poisoned themselves to death. At the
time he was 19 years old.
Unable to return home, Soh Jae-pil studied on his own in the United States where
he was a stranger and had no relatives.
Completing the secondary school, he was
admitted to Columbian Medical College in
Columbia, from which he graduated with
honors in 1892. In June 1890, he became
the first Korean acquiring American citizenship and assumed the American name Philip
Jaisohn. In June 1894, he married Muriel
Josephine Armstrong, a daughter of George
Buchanan Armstrong, the pioneer of the
American railroad postal service. In the
meantime, the political situation at home
changed. With a pro-Japanese cabinet set up
in the Reform of 1894 (Kabo Kyongjang),
those who took part in the 1884 coup and
exiled themselves abroad were pardoned.
Soh Jae-pil returned home to publish the Independent.
The Independent had an absolute impact
on the history of Koreas media. The Hanseong Sunbo and Hanseong Weekly. published
by the government, modeled themselves
after Japanese papers and mostly reprinted
stories written in the Chinese press. They
lacked the function of criticism. Until then,
Korea had no access to the Western press.
The model of the Independent was American newspapers. Soh Jae-pil, educated in
the United States and being an American
citizen, had no need to heed the restrictions
imposed by the Korean government. The
Independent promoted freedom of the press
and democracy and exercised the function
of criticism. It demonstrated that a newspaper could manage itself independently
on readership fees and advertising revenues,
without relying upon any political group.
The Independent influenced Koreas modern
political history as well by playing a significant role in expanding and promoting the
enlightenment of the public and the enlightenment movement.
The Independents critical function and
resistance spirit against external aggression have remained the tradition of Koreas
media. The Independent provided the theory
and direction of the enlightenment movement and fulfilled the role of protecting the
national interests. From the perspective of
the history of Koreas media, its merit in
facilitating the emergence of private newspapers is highly evaluated. The news media
has observed April 7, the date when the
Independent was inaugurated, as newspaper
day since April 1957, a representation of
the intent of Korean journalists to inherit
the spirit of the Independent. A sense of confidence that newspapers can be managed
on readership fees and advertising revenues

alone, fostered by the Independent, prompted
many newspapers to emerge later. The Independent facilitated newspaper development
in Korea.
4. Methodist and
Presbyterian Newspapers
Christianity also contributed to the development of the media greatly. Methodist and
Presbyterian missionaries began to publish newspapers about the same time. The
Methodist Mission, equipped with printing
facilities, inaugurated the Christian Advocate,
a weekly printed exclusively in the Korean
alphabet, Hangeul, on February 2, 1897. Its
publisher Henry Gerhard Appenzeller (February 6, 1858-June 11, 1902) came to Korea
in 1885 and contributed toward developing
the nations education and the press.
Opening Pai Chai Academy in 1887, he
launched Western education in Korea. He
assumed the editorship of the Korean Repository, a monthly in the English language, in
1895 and assumed the acting presidency of
the Independent in May 1898, when Soh Jaepil returned to the United States. The Presbyterian Mission inaugurated the Christian
News on April 1, 1897, with Horace Grant
Underwood (July 19, 1859-October 12,
1916) serving as the publisher. Underwood
also contributed greatly to the development
of religion, politics, education and culture in
Korea during the countrys enlightenment
period.
The Christian Advocate and the Christian
News, following an eight-year-long publicaVolume. 4 2010 no.2
31
tion, issued their respective final issues on

June 24, 1905, and merged themselves into
the Christian News on July 1 of the same
year. The Catholic Church launched the
Kyonghyang Sinmun weekly on October 19,
1906. French priest Florinan Demange was
the publisher.
The year of 1898 marked a unique period in the history of Koreas media as the
press circle was born with the Jeguk Sinmun
and Hwangseong Sinmun, representative nationalist papers in the final months of the
Great Han Empire, launched in addition to
the Hyopseong Hoebo and Maeil Sinmun. The
year also saw the formation of the Newspaper Friendship Society, the first of its
kind in the country, which began to discuss
in group the freedom of the press and
newspaper management as well as promoting mutual friendship between newspapers.
Such a rapid growth of private newspapers
was possible largely thanks to the following
three factors:
First, the social situation at the time accelerated the publication of private papers.
With the thought of enlightenment spreading, a social reform movement was invigorated centered around the Independence
Club and Manmin Gongdong Hoe (the
Convention of Ten Thousand People). Desire for information thrived across society
and strong moves emerged to publish papers as a means of achieving social reforms.
Second, the social leaders began to have
confidence that newspapers could sustain
themselves as independent businesses. The
Independent, though inaugurated with the
governments financial subsidies, proved it
possible to publish a newspaper indepen32
dently on readership fees and advertising

revenues.
Third, the inauguration of the pro-Japanese Hanseong Shinbo a year prior to that
of the Independent on the strength of secret
subsidies from Japans foreign ministry and
the publication since 1897 of the Christian
Advocate and Christian News stimulated the
appearance of private newspapers.
5. Publication of Dailies
by Private Citizens
On January 1, 1898, Hyopseong Hoe (Association for Cooperative Endeavors), the

student association of Pai Chai College, in
Seoul, launched the Hyopseong Hoebo (the
Journal of Hyeopseong Hoe), a weekly,
which developed into the daily newspaper
named the Maeil Sinmun (Diurnal News) in
April. The Maeil Shinmun was the first daily
published in Korea. The Independent, inaugurated two years earlier, was then published
every other day or three times a week. Following the publication of the Maeil Sinmun,
the Independent became a daily in July. Syngman Rhee (Yi Sungman), then a Pai Chai
College student, worked as a Maeil Sinmun
reporter, and assumed the dailys presidency
for a while. Syngman Rhee, an independence fighter, became the first president of
the Republic of Korea.
The inauguration of the Jeguk Sinmun
(August 10, 1895) and the Hwangseong Sinmun (September 5, 1898) followed. Thus
four dailies -- the Maeil Sinmun, Jeguk Sinmun, Hwangseong Sinmun and Independent -were published in Seoul. The Shisa Chongbo
(The All-Encompassing Report on Current

Affairs) was born the next year in January
1899. A variety of papers, including religious and ordinary ones, came into being
for the first time in Korea.
The Jeguk Sinmun and Hwangseong Sinmun continued publication until 1910 when
Japan annexed Korea by force. Published
exclusively in the Korean alphabet, the Jeguk
Sinmuns readership consisted mainly of
commoners. The editor-in-chief was Syngman Rhee, who waged an active battle of
words with the Hanseong Sinbo, published by
a group of Japanese. He is famous for having written articles in the Jeguk Sinmun even
while serving a prison term, after having
been arrested in January 1899 on charges
involving his activities within the Independence Club. While traveling to the United
States for study in November 1904 after
release from prison in August that year, he
had two of his observations printed in the
op-ed column of the Jeguk Sinmun. The
newspaper published a total of some 3,240
issues over 11 years.
Being published in both Korean and Chinese characters, the Hwangseong Sinmun had
intellectuals and the upper class as its main
readers. The daily was a joint-stock company, electing executives at a staff members
general assembly. It was in the August 31,
1902 staff general meeting that Chang Chiyon, the prominent disputant, was elected
the president of the newspaper.
6. Confrontation between
Nationalist and Pro-Japanese
Papers
Presenting many similarities in the history

of Koreas media are the two turbulent
times from 1904 when the Russo-Japanese
War ended till 1910 when Korea was annexed by Japan and from 1945 when Korea
was liberated till 1948 when the Republic
of Korea was born. The former was the socalled protectorate-rule period prior to
Japans colonization of Korea when Japan
set up the Japanese Resident-General extending its hands of invasion to Korea, and
the latter a period during which the United
States military government ruled Korea following Koreas emancipation from Japans
imperialism and our independent government was born. The two periods preceding
and following Japans colonization of Korea, short as they were, were similar to each
other in that Korea could not exercise its
sovereignty politically and in that they both
featured political and social turbulence. In
time of political instability in any country, it
is usual that many newspapers characterized
by strong political leanings will emerge, rising and falling in step with the vicissitudes
of the political groups that they espouse. In
Korea also, the afore-mentioned two periods were times of extreme divisiveness in
public opinion and accordingly, the numbers
of newly-published newspapers rose suddenly and sharply.
Following the outbreak of the RussoJapanese War, the media was split into
two: pro-Japanese papers and nationalistic newspapers. The papers of the nationalist camp advocating the safeguarding of
the nations sovereignty when the national
fate was deteriorating confronted proJapanese papers championing the nations
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
33
annexation by Japan. In addition to domestic papers, Korean expatriates in the United

States and Russia published newspapers,
while some Japanese came to Korea to issue
papers. The media situation at the time was
thus pluralistic and complicated.
With the Russo-Japanese War breaking
out in February 1904, Japan seized monopolistic supremacy on the Korean Peninsula,
dispelling Russian influence. Japan cracked
down on Koreas news media by enforcing prior censorship. It confiscated antiJapanese newspapers, banned their sales and
suspended their publication, while arresting
Korean journalists.
Japan extended financial aid to newspapers that Japanese published in Korea and
made them serve as its organs rationalizing
its invasion of Korea and trumpeting its
victory in the Russo-Japanese War. The
Japanese Resident-General published the
Japanese daily Keijo Nippo (Seoul Quotidian
Newspaper; Keijo was the Japanese name
for Seoul) and the English Seoul Press as its
organs, tasked with spreading political propaganda and guiding the world opinion to
its favor.
Even in such an adverse situation, nationalistic papers fought for Koreas independence. Most prominent among them were
The Daehan Maeil Sinbo and its English
sister paper The Korea Daily News, inaugurated on July 17, 1904 by Englishman
Ernest Thomas Bethell, who came to Korea
as a special correspondent of Britains Daily
Chronicle to cover the Russo-Japanese War.
The newspaper occupies a unique and significant position in the history of Koreas
media. Published by an Englishman, the
34
Daehan Maeil Sinbo was able to evade censorship by the Japanese military police. England tried not to concede the extraterritorial
rights Englishmen enjoyed in Korea.
It was a time when Japan, a new East
Asian power, actually seized Korea, having its control of Korea recognized by the
world powers. At home, nationalist movements were underway in various areas.
Righteous armies waged armed struggles,
and movements against Japans colonization
took place, including the National Debt Redemption drive and patriotic enlightenment
campaign. Koreas nationalist camp was
greatly encouraged by the daily published by
Bethell, but a diplomatic issue ensued between Japan and England.
When Japan signed the protectorate treaty
by force on November 1905, Jang Ji-yeon,
president of the Hwangseong Sinmun, wrote
an editorial denouncing the treaty, titled,
On This Day, We Cry Our Hearts Out,
and an article detailing the process leading
to the treaty. Aware that the editorial would
not pass censorship, Jang published it without being censored by the Japanese military
police. The Japanese military police immediately detained Jang and suspended the dailys
publication. But the Daihan Maeil Sinbo and
its sister paper Korea Daily News, published
by Bethell, issued special extras with Jangs
editorial translated into English and Chinese. The Japan Chronicle, published by an
Englishman in Kobe, Japan, reprinted intact
On This Day, We Cry Our Harts Out, in
an English extra, on December 21, 1905
and informed Westerners residing in Japan
and elsewhere of Japans invasion of Korea
by force.
Japan, citing its alliance with England, persistently demanded that England either ban
the publication of the Daihan Maeil Sinbo,
a major obstacle to its control of Korea,
or expel Bethell from Korea. The Japanese
Residency-General filed suits against Bethell
twice, under which he was tried. The dailys
secretary-general Yang Ki-ttaek was also
tried on charges of embezzling the Korean
National Debt Redemption Fund. The incidents were frequently reported in newspapers published in Korea, Japan, China and
England.
Newspapers published in the last months
of the Great Han Empire were the central
organs of the patriotic movement against
Japans colonialism. The National Debt Redemption Movement, launched by newspapers, in particular, spread across the country
as a campaign of the masses. It was unprecedented that a spontaneous mass campaign
spread out to the entire country in such a
short period of time. The campaign, that
boosted the clout of the nationalist camp by
consolidating the scattered public strength
and awakening dormant patriotism among
the people, led to subsequent struggles
against Japan.
Korean expatriates also published papers.
They published Korean newspapers in
Hawaii, San Francisco and Los Angles, the
United States and in Vladivostok, Russia.
Many independence fighters took part in
the production of those overseas Korean
papers to play the role of linking overseas
anti-Japanese movements with one another
and publicized the national consciousness
and spirit of independence among their
brethren at home and abroad. Korean
newspapers published in the United States

and Russia are the most important primary
materials on the independence movements
waged in the two countries.
Though the freedom of the press shrank
seriously at home, Korean expatriates in
the two countries could publish papers
denouncing Japans invasion. When Jeong
Myeong-un and Jang In-hwan, two Korean
expatriates in the United States, assassinated
Durham W. Stevens, a Japanese-selected
American advisor to the Korean foreign office, in San Francisco on March 23, 1908,
The United Korean, a paper Korean expatriates published in San Francisco, wrote articles, eulogizing them as patriotic heroes
and denouncing Stevens as Koreas public
enemy. The Japanese Residency-General
blocked the domestic circulation of the paper at the source by confiscating the entire
issue in question.
7. Monopoly by
Pro-Japanese Papers and
Rebirth of Nationalist Papers
The Government-General in Korea, following Japans 1910 annexation of Korea

by force, enforcing administration by the
bayonet, banned Koreans from publishing newspapers, whereby nationalist papers
previously published all vanished. The only
remaining Korean-language newspaper was
the Maeil Sinmun, the organ of the Government-General, ushering in a dark period of
the press.
Adopting the so-called enlightened administration in the wake of the March First
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
35
Movement of 1919, Japan permitted Koreans to publish papers and the nationalist
press revived. Newspapers newly launched
by Koreans could keep a considerably antiJapanese tone in the 1920s. Beginning with
the outbreak of the 1931 Manchurian Incident, however, Japans suppression intensified further to cause a period of most cruel
ordeal for the entire Korean nation until
Japan surrendered in 1945. Koreas news
media under the Japanese rule can be classified into the following three periods:
The first period of monopoly by proJapanese papers (1910-1919): The organ of
the Government-General monopolized the
media with newspaper publication by Koreans banned.
The second period of permitting Koreans
to publish papers (1920-1930): Following
the March First Movement of 1919, the
publication of three Korean newspapers
was permitted. The newly-launched papers
kept an anti-Japanese tone of argument in
the 1920s.
The third period of forcing newspapers
to become pro-Japanese (1931-1945): Japan,
after the 1931 Manchurian Incident, an extension of a war of aggression, further suppressed the freedom of the press and forced
newspapers to publish pro-Japanese articles.
In the March First Movement of 1919,
Koreans published various underground
papers in Seoul and Manchuria. These included the Chosun Dongnip Sinmun (Korea
Independence Daily), launched as an underground paper on March 1, 1919 when
the Korean Declaration of Independence
signed by 33 representatives of the nation
was announced.
36
The Dongnip Sinmun (Independence

Newspaper), the organ of the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai, China,
was inaugurated on August 21, 1919. While
domestic underground newspapers took the
form of hand-written and mimeographed
copies, the Dongnip Sinmun was typeset and
produced using a printing press. The first
president of the Dongnip Sinmun, published
in close coordination with the Korean Provisional Government, was the novelist-journalist Yi Gwang-su, and its first publication
editor was the poet-journalist Ju Yo-han.
The Dongnip Sinmun was distributed to
Korean expatriates in Shanghai and elsewhere in China, Manchuria and the United
States. In addition, a considerable number
of copies of the underground paper were
smuggled into Korea through the secret
networks of the Korean Provisional Government. The publication of the Dongnip
Sinmun in Shanghai was interrupted several
times due to financial difficulties. The newspaper was published for seven years on donations Koreans made at home and abroad.
The Government-General, shifting into
the so-called enlightened administration
in Korea, enforced an ordinary police system in place of the previous military police
system. As one of its changed policies, the
Government-General permitted Koreans
to publish dailies on a limited scale. Thus
the Chosunilbo, DongA Ilbo and Sisa Sinmun
came into being. The publication of the
three dailies brought a new era to Koreas
media.
The three dailies launched in 1920 were
called private papers, in contrast to the
Maeil Sinbo, an organ of the Government-
The DongA Ilbo and Chosunilbo
General. The pro-Japanese Sisa Sinmun

closed down in February 1921, to be reborn
as the Sidae Ilbo on March 31, 1924. Though
its title and copyright subsequently changed
into the Jungoe Ilbo, Jungang Ilbo and Chosun
Jungang Ilbo, the daily continued publication.
The three newspapers underwent confiscations and suspended publication by the
Government-General tens of times.
Under Japans reinforced suppression of
the media, the medias anti-Japanese tone
moderated from the late 1920s. The DongA
Ilbo and Chosunilbo launched the literacy
improvement campaign and the farm village enlightenment movement. The literacy
improvement campaign the two nationalist
dailies initiated when the Government-General forced the population to use Japanese
as their mother tongue under its policy

of obliterating the Korean language, was a
roundabout resistance to imperial Japans
policy of eradicating the Korean nation and
an endeavor to foster the national spirit and
cultivate capabilities to attain national independence. The two dailies carried out the literacy improvement campaign and the farm
village enlightenment movement as annual
events in an organized way until 1936 when
the Government-General banned them.
Through the movements, the nationalist dailies greatly contributed toward eliminating
illiteracy and diffusing the Korean language.
The Chosunilbo and DongA Ilbo, after
20 years of publication under Japans colonial rule, tragically closed down in August
1940 under orders from the GovernmentVolume. 4 2010 no.2
37
General. The Chosun Jungang Ilbo suspended

its publication in 1936. The Chosunilbo and
DongA Ilbo resumed their publication in
1945, five years after their discontinuance,
upon the fall of the imperial Japan, and
have been in business ever since. Both of
them observed their 90th anniversaries this
year and are recognized as the most prominent news outlets of the country, being the
longest surviving papers in the country.
8. The Media in the Course of

Building a Democratic Country
The media following Japans surrender can

be defined as representing a democratization
struggle opposing Communism and dictatorship. In terms of management, the media
assumed a commercial trend. The American
military government permitted the freedom
of the press by promulgating military administration law No. 19, which replaced the
licensing system enforced under the Japanese colonial rule with a registration system.
Pledging to guarantee the freedom of the
press, the military government adopted a
policy of non-interference in and laissezfaire toward the media. As a result, many
kinds of newspapers were launched under
the American military administration.
The leftist media, in particular, held the
leadership of the news media by securing printing facilities early and controlling
media unions. The Chosun Inminbo (Korea
Peoples Journal), inaugurated on September
8, 1945 when the American troops occupied
Seoul, the Haebang Ilbo (Liberation Daily),
launched on September 19, and the Jungang
38
Sinmun (Central Daily), first published on

November 1, were representative leftist
dailies. The discontinued Chosunilbo and
DongA Ilbo resumed publication in August
1940, and large numbers of newspapers
and magazines linked with political factions
mushroomed to usher in the so-called golden age of political papers. With the nation
divided into the left and right politically and
the ideological confrontation polarized, the
media also saw confrontation between the
left and right. The American military administration, confronted with the new reality,
again shifted newspaper publication into a
licensing system.
Many Koreans who worked as journalists
under Japanese colonial rule advanced to
the political arena. As they were unable to
conduct political activities under Japanese
rule, the media functioned as a refuge for
politicians, thinkers, literary men and artists.
Many people who led the political circles
following the nations liberation were former journalists.
With the American military government
established in South Korea and Soviet
Union forces occupying and administering North Korea, the left and right camps
ideologically confronted each other over the
establishment of a new unified government,
intensifying conflicts. The media also waged
serious struggles, divided into the left and
right. Leftist media existed in the South, but
the media in the North, deprived of free
reporting and criticism, became propagators
and instigators of the communist party.
The Republic of Korea government, established in August 1948, adopted a media
policy banning the leftist press, while the
Kim Il-sung regime in the North further reinforced media control in an effort to pave
the way for its invasion of the South. A vicious circle intensified in which the media,
characterized by resistance from the final
months of the Great Han Empire to Japans
occupation of the country, boldly criticized
the Syngman Rhee administration, while the
government suppressed the news media.
The 1955 terrorist attack on the Daegu Maeil
Sinmun and the 1959 shut-down of the
Kyunghyang Sinmun typified the suppression
of the press.
The opposition parties and the media
reinforced their offensive of resisting and
blasting the media suppression by the administration and the ruling party, which,
in turn, prompted the fall of the Syngman
Rhee government. Press resistance against
dictatorship provided a motive power for
the April 19, 1960 Student Uprising.
Under the Second Republic, launched in
the wake of the collapse of the Syngman
Rhee administration due to the April 19 Student Uprising, the media enjoyed limitless
freedom for a short while. The Democratic
administration of the Second Republic adopted a laissez-faire press policy. It was a
reaction to the Syngman Rhee administrations rigid press policy and reflected a public aspiration that the freedom of the press,
which contributed to toppling the authoritarian administration, should be expanded.
The side-effects from the abrupt change in
the media environment were also serious,
however. The mushrooming of 100-odd
dailies and 200-plus news agencies gave rise
to a social issue stemming from the flooding
of pseudo-media outlets. The mushrooming
of media outlets went too far for society to

accommodate.
9. Democratization Struggle and

the Growth of Media Enterprises
The messy state of the press gave the military rulers the excuse to shut down a large
number of news outlets in the name of a
sweeping reform of the mass media. Following the coup detat of May 16, 1961, the
military government that ensued took steps
to abolish or merge many of the mushrooming newspapers and news agencies that
did not meet the decreed physical plant requirements for their operation.
Accordingly, 49 dailies, 241 news agencies
and 324 weeklies published in Seoul were
shut down in bloc, and so were 27 dailies
and 64 news agencies and 129 weeklies in
provincial cities. As a result, only 15 dailies,
11 news agencies and 31 weeklies remained
in Seoul, and 49 dailies and one weekly in
provincial cities. Following the drastic curtailment of media outlets, media enterprises
continued to grow on the strength of government subsidies.
In the 1950s and 1960s, newspapers
couldnt make profits. Too many newspapers
existed for them to make profits under the
then prevailing social and economic conditions. Journalists salaries were low; many of
them were unqualified. As the government
implemented various media support policies
following the drastic curtailment of media
outlets in the wake of the May 16 coup, media enterprises revenues rose sharply. The
rapid economic growth of the country also
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
39
provided media businesses with a favorable

environment.
Newspapers and broadcasting stations,
pursuing multilateral management, expanded the scope of their management, publishing various kinds of sister papers like weeklies and monthlies. The development of the
national economy also contributed to the
expansion of media enterprises. As the government suppressed the emergence of new
newspapers, media corporations enjoyed an
oligopoly through various privileges given
by the government and management cartels
formed among themselves. The oligopoly
of the media and privileges given the press
deepened on account of the 1980 abolition
and merger of media outlets.
But the press oligopoly and privileges
given the media by the government disappeared under the June 29, 1987 democracy declaration, ushering in an era of
autonomous competition for the media.
The media environment also underwent a
major change. Freed from official control
on the strength of a changed political climate, economic growth and the 1988 Seoul
Olympics, the media became able to boldly
report previously taboo subjects. With the
publication of newspapers and magazines
liberalized, large numbers of new media
outlets emerged. It was a new phenomenon
that appeared more than three decades after the Second Republic guaranteed free
media publication in the wake of the April
19, 1960 Student Uprising. The freedom of
the press expanded remarkably, with media
unions formed and media outlets making
democratization efforts. The internationalization of the media progressed rapidly.
40
10. Internationalization and

Advancement of the Media
The historical nature of the media can

hardly be defined in a word. But the history
of Koreas media may be summed up as follows:
First, the media was a pool of distinguished people and produced personages in
various fields.
From the last months of the Great
Han Empire when newspapers were first
launched, until Japans colonization of Korea, many famous people, who led the nations contemporary history, assembled in
the media. Patriots, scholars, independence
activists and literary men took part in the
media, directly or indirectly. They devoted
themselves to promoting public rights and
national interests by informing the public
of the situation at home and abroad and introducing them to Western civilizations and
ideas. Following the countrys liberation,
many journalists moved to various arenas
like the political, literary and educational circles. Some journalists who started their careers after the liberation also switched jobs
to the political, cultural and financial arenas.
Some of them were sifted into leading
government posts and as ministry spokespersons and information officers. Many of
them became opposition politicians or distinguished persons out of office.
Second, the media were the central institutions of enlightenment and the fight against
Japanese colonialism.
In Chosun, which opened its ports later
than its neighboring Japan and China, newspapers functioned as the central institutions
of enlightenment, introducing foreign civilizations and opening the eyes of the public.
They became the gathering places of the
nationalist resistance against Japans invasion. In the last months of the Great Han
Empire, when the fate of the country fell in
the face of Japans invasion, and under the
disgraceful Japanese colonization, newspapers, the most powerful organizations fighting against Japans colonialism, played the
role of educating the people effectively.
Third, the media carried out a cultural
movement safeguarding the nations identity.
Newspapers assumed the role of putting
in order our history and popularizing and
developing literature and culture. Cases in
point are the literacy improvement movement under Japans colonial rule and the
preservation of Admiral Yi Sun-shin relics
and folk culture.
Fourth, the media, following the nations liberation from Japanese colonial
rule, helped democracy take firm root by
opposing Communism in a bid to build a
democratic country and resisting dictatorship. Such a tradition has led to the spirit of
criticism against the government since the
Republic was born in 1948.

Newspapers under Japanese colonial rule
had to be commercially oriented in management, but did not entirely abandon the
tradition of enlightenment established by
the media during the last months of the
Great Han Empire. It was hard for the media to continue affirmative press activities
alone under a favorable environment. Under
Japans colonialism, in which the entire nation underwent ordeals, the media fulfilled
the mission of fighting against colonialism
sometimes, but abandoned this mission at
other times.
Despite their frequent mutations occasioned by political upheavals, Koreas media
continued its development, finally joining
the ranks of world-class news organizations.
Nowadays, freedom of speech and the press
is flourishing in Korea. Once predominated
by newspapers, the nations media are now
evolving into a multimedia complex in
which newspapers, TV and radio stations,
the Internet and telecommunications services are all fused together in a mutually
complementary fashion.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
41
Periodical Registration
Daily
Total
654
Ministry of Culture, Sports

and Tourism
News Agency
4
Other Daily
(Nov. 22. 2009)
Weekly
Monthly
2,653
5,257
1,276
4,177
68
87
Seoul
223
Busan
14
Daegu
12
39
68
Incheon
24
136
106
Gwangju
28
35
41
Daejeon
16
45
55
Ulsan
17
33
22
Gyeonggi-do
137
400
422
Gangwon-do
31
42
38
Chungcheongbuk-do
15
53
33
Chungcheongnam-do
19
92
38
Jeollabuk-do
26
60
36
Jeollanam-do
12
101
30
Gyeongsangbuk-do
25
111
36
Gyeongsangnam-do
43
129
47
Jeju-do
12
33
21
bimonthly
Total
Quarterly
Biannual
Internet
Newspaper
Total
670
1,514
509
1,698
12,961
Seoul
506
1,112
365
788
7,661
Busan
18
43
18
35
248
Daegu
23
22
153
Incheon
18
38
49
328
Gwangju
17
30
135
Daejeon
23
10
42
156
Ministry of Culture, Sports

and Tourism
Ulsan
24
79
Gyeonggi-do
57
134
44
271
1,194
Gangwon-do
10
44
130
Chungcheongbuk-do
12
26
126
Chungcheongnam-do
18
13
54
188
Jeollabuk-do
14
28
149
Jeollanam-do
13
99
161
Gyeongsangbuk-do
13
90
198
Gyeongsangnam-do
29
12
76
268
Jeju-do
11
20
85
42
* Source: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Korean Media List

The list is Members
of the Korean Association of Newspapers
and the Korean Broadcasters Association
National Newspapers

CHOSUNILBO
www.chosun.com
61, 1-ga, Taepyeongno, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-724-5114
Establishment:1920.3.5
DONG-A ILBO
www.donga.com
139, Sejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-2020-0114
HANKOOK ILBO
www.hankooki.com
Hanjin Bldg, 118, 2-ga, Namdaemunno,Junggu, Seoul
Tel:02-724-2114
HANKYOREH
www.hani.co.kr
116-25, Gongdeok-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Tel:1566-9595
JOONGANG ILBO
www.joins.com
7, Sunhwa-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-751-5114
KUKMIN DAILY NEWSPAPER
www.kukinews.com
12, Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-781-9114
KYUNGHYANG DAILY NEWS

www.khan.co.kr
22, Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-3701-1114
MUNHWA ILBO
www.munhwa.com
68, 1-ga, Chungjeongno, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-3701-5114
NAEIL NEWS
www.naeil.com
55, 2-ga, Shimmuno, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-2287-2300
SEGYE TIMES
www.segye.com
63-1, 3-ga, Hangangno, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-2000-1234
SEOUL SHINMUN
www.seoul.co.kr
33 Taepyeongnogil, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-2000-9000

Financial Newspapers

HERALD BUSINESS
www.heraldbiz.com
1-17, Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-727-0114
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
43
KOREA ECONOMIC DAILY

www.hankyung.com
441, Jungrim-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-360-4114
KOREA HERALD
www.koreaherald.co.kr
1-17, Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-727-0114
MAEIL BUSINESS NEWSPAPER

www.mk.co.kr
30-1, 1-ga. Pil-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-2000-2114
KOREA JOONGANG DAILY

http://joongangdaily.joins.com
9th Fl., Jungang Media Bldg., 2-6, Sunhwadong, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:1577-0510
MONEY TODAY
www.mt.co.kr
3rd~4th Fl., Chenggye 11 Bldg., 149, Seorindong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-724-7700
SEOUL ECONOMIC DAILY
www.sedaily.com
43, 3-ga, Chungmuro, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-724-2114

Sports Newspapers

SPORTS CHOSUN
www.sportschosun.com
923-14, Mok 1-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-3219-8114
SPORTS SEOUL DAILY
www.sportsseoul.com
5th Fl., Ace Hitech City Bldg., 55-20, 3-ga,
Munrae-dong, Yeongdeungpogu, Seoul
Tel:02-2001-0021

English Newspapers
44
KOREA TIMES
www.koreatimes.co.kr
8th Fl., ChungmuroTower Bldg., 43, 3-ga,
Chungmuro, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-724-2359

Others
ELECTRONIC TIMES
www.etnews.co.kr
94-152/3, Yeongdeungpo-dong 2-ga, Yeongdeungpo, Seoul
Tel:02-2168-9200

Local Newspapers

Busan Distirict

BUSAN ILBO
www.busan.com
1-10, Sujeong-dong, Dong-gu, Busan
Tel:051-461-4114
KOOKJE DAILY NEWS
www.kookje.co.kr
76-2, Geoje-dong, Yeonje-gu, Busan
Tel:051-500-5114
Daegu District
831, Gyeryongno, Seo-gu, Daejeon

Tel:042-251-3311

DAEGU ILBO
www.idaegu.com
177-10, Beomeo-dong, Suseong-gu,
Daegu
Tel:053-757-5700
JOONGDO ILBO
www.joongdo.co.kr
175-3, Oryu-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon
Tel:042-220-1100
MAEIL SHINMUN
www.imaeil.com
71, 2-ga, Gyesan-dong, Jung-gu,
Daegu
Tel:053-255-5001
KYUNGSANG ILBO
www.ksilbo.com
299-10, Mugeo-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan
Tel:052-220-0515
YEONGNAM ILBO
www.yeongnam.com
111, Sincheon-dong, Dong-gu, Daegu
Tel:053-757-5114
Gwangju District
Ulsan District
ULSAN DAILY NEWSPAPER

www.iusm.co.kr
1488-4, Samsan-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan
Tel:052-243-1001
Gyeonggi-do District
GYEONGGI ILBO
KWANGJU ILBO
www.kgib.co.kr
www.kwangju.co.kr
452-1, Songjuk-dong, Jangan-gu, Suwon,
20-2, 2-ga, Geumnamno, Dong-gu,
Gyeonggi-do
Gwangju
Tel:031-250-3300
Tel:062-222-8111
JOONGDO ILBO
www.joongdo.co.kr
Daejeon District
175-3, Oryu-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon
CHUNGCHEONG TODAY
Tel:042-220-1100
www.cctoday.co.kr
(400, Galma-dong), Dunwon1-gil, Seo-gu,
Daejeon
KYEONGIN ILBO
Tel:042-380-7000
www.kyeongin.com
1122-11, Ingye-dong, Paldal-gu, Suwon,
Gyeonggi-do
DAEJEON ILBO
Tel:031-231-5114
www.daejonilbo.com
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
45
Gangwon-do District
Gyeongsangbuk-do District

KANGWON DOMIN ILBO
www.kado.net
257-27, Hupyeong-dong, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do
Tel:033-260-9000

KYUNGBUK DOMIN ILBO
www.hidomin.com
82-4, Haedo 2-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang,
Gyeongsangbuk-do
Tel:054-283-8100
KANGWON ILBO
www.kwnews.co.kr
31, 1-ga, Jungangno, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do
Tel:033-258-1000
Chuncheongbuk-do District
KYUNGBUK ILBO
www.kyongbuk.co.kr
579-12, Sangdo-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang,
Gyeongsangbuk-do
Tel:054-289-2277

JOONGBU MAEIL
www.jbnews.com
12, Wolgulli-gil, Heungdeok-gu,Cheongju,
Chungcheongbuk-do
Tel:043-275-3011
KYUNGBUK MAEIL SHINMUN

www.kbmaeil.com
60-14, 1-ga, Dongbin-dong, Buk-gu, Pohang,
Gyeongsangbuk-do
Tel:054-241-7111
Jeollabuk-do District
Gyeongsangnam-do District

JEOLLA ILBO
www.jeollailbo.com
140-1, Gamyeong-dong, Wansan-gu, Jeonju,
Jeollabuk-do
Tel:063-232-3131
GYEONGNAM ILBO
www.gnnews.co.kr
237-4, Sangpyeong-dong, Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do
Tel:055-751-1000
JEONBUK DOMIN DAILY NEWSPAPER

www.domin.co.kr
417-62, Jinbuk-dong, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju,
Jeollabuk-do
Tel:063-259-2102
JEONBUK ILBO
www.jjan.kr
710-5, Geumam 1-dong, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju,
Jeollabuk-do
Tel:063-250-5500
46
KYONGNAM SHINMUN
www.knnews.co.kr
100-5, Sinwol-dong, Uichang-gu, Changwon,
Gyeongsangnam-do
Tel:055-283-2211
Jeju-do District
HALLA ILBO
www.hallailbo.co.kr
568-1, Samdo 1-dong, Jeju, Jeju-do
Tel:064-750-2114
JEJU DAILY NEWS

www.jejunews.com
81, Doryeongro, Jeju, Jeju-do
Tel:064-740-6114
-KBS CHEONGJU
cheongju.kbs.co.kr
456, Seonghwa-dong, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do
Tel:043-260-7202
News Agency

YONHAP NEWS AGENCY
www.yonhapnews.co.kr
85-1, Susong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-398-3114
Broadcasting

KBS
www.kbs.co.kr
Tel:02-781-1000
-KBS ANDONG
andong.kbs.co.kr
666, Taehwa-dong, Andong,
Gyeongsangbuk-do
Tel:054-850-7121
-KBS BUSAN
busan.kbs.co.kr
63, Namcheon-dong, Suyeong-gu, Busan
Tel:051-620-7100
-KBS CHANGWON
changwon.kbs.co.kr
106, Jungangno, Sinwol-dong, Changwon,
Gyeongsangnam-do
Tel:055-280-7100
-KBS CHUNCHEON
chunchon.kbs.co.kr
86-1, Nakwon-dong, Chuncheon,
Gangwon-do
Tel:033-258-7100
-KBS CHUNGJU
chungju.kbs.co.kr
417, Munhwa-dong, Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do
Tel:043-840-7100
-KBS DAEGU
daegu.kbs.co.kr
245, Beomeo-dong, Suseong-gu,Daegu
Tel:033-757-7202
-KBS DAEJEON
daejeon.kbs.co.kr
300, Mannyeon-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon
Tel:042-470-7114
-KBS GANGNEUNG
gangneung.kbs.co.kr
62-5, Yonggang-dong, Gangneung,
Gangwon-do
Tel:033-640-7100
-KBS GWANGJU
gwangju.kbs.co.kr
1206-1, Chipyeong-dong, Seo-gu,
Gwangju
Tel:062-610-7100
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
47
-KBS JEJU
jeju.kbs.co.kr
302-3, Yeon-dong, Jeju, Jeju-do
Tel:064-740-7100
-KBS JEONJU
jeonju.kbs.co.kr
523-3, Geumam-dong, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju,
Jeollabuk-do
Tel:063-270-7114
-KBS JINJU
jinju.kbs.co.kr
13-22, Sinan-dong, Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do
Tel:055-740-7141
-KBS MOKPO
mokpo.kbs.co.kr
1188-3, Yongdang-dong, Mokpo, Jeollanam-do
Tel:061-270-7100
-KBS POHANG
pohang.kbs.co.kr
655, Sangdo-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do
Tel:054-280-7100
-KBS SUNCHEON
suncheon.kbs.co.kr
91-3, Seokhyeon-dong, Suncheon,
Jeollanam-do
Tel:061-750-7100
-KBS ULSAN
ulsan.kbs.co.kr
416-7, Dal-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan
Tel:052-270-7100
48
-KBS WONJU
wonju.kbs.co.kr
79-1, Won-dong, Wonju, Gangwon-do
Tel:033-760-7000
MBC
www.imbc.com
Tel:02-780-0011
-ANDONG MBC
www.andongmbc.co.kr
709-1, Taehwa-dong, Andong,
Gyeongsangbuk-do
Tel:054-851-7114
-BUSAN MBC
www.busanmbc.co.kr
316-2, Minrak-dong, Suyeong-gu, Busan
Tel:051-760-1000
-CHANGWON MBC
www.changwonmbc.co.kr
525-1, Yangdeok-dong, MasanHoewon-gu,
Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do
Tel:055-250-5000
-CHEONGJU MBC
www.mbccj.co.kr
352-8, Gagyeong-dong, Heungdeokgu,
Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do
Tel:043-229-7114
-CHUNCHEON MBC
www.chmbc.co.kr
238-3, Samcheon-dong, Chuncheon,
Gangwon-do
Tel:033-259-1215
-CHUNGJU MBC
www.cjmbc.co.kr
680, Hoam-dong, Chungju,
Chungcheongbuk-do
Tel:043-841-8114
-DAEGU MBC
www.dgmbc.com
1, Beomeo-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu
Tel:053-740-9500
-DAEJEON MBC
www.tjmbc.co.kr
4-5, Doryong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon
Tel:042-330-3114
-GANGNEUNG MBC
www.gnmbc.co.kr
1091-6, Ponam 2-dong, Gangneung,
Gangwon-do
Tel:033-650-2114
-GWANGJU MBC
www.kjmbc.co.kr
300, Weolsan-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju
Tel:062-360-2000
-JEJU MBC
www.jejumbc.co.kr
321-22, Yeon-dong, Jeju, Jeju-do
Tel:064-740-2114
-JEONJU MBC
www.jmbc.co.kr
151-9, 2-ga, Junghwasan-dong, Wansan-gu,
Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do
Tel:063-220-8000
-JINJU MBC
www.jinjumbc.co.kr
700-1, Gajwa-dong, Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do
Tel:055-771-2120
-MOKPO MBC
www.mokpombc.co.kr
1096-1, Yongdang-dong, Mokpo,
Jeollanam-do
Tel:061-270-9000
-POHANG MBC
www.phmbc.co.kr
907-4, Daejam-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang,
Gyeongsangbuk-do
Tel:054-289-0114
-SAMCHEOK MBC
www.scmbc.co.kr
111, Galcheon-dong, Samcheok,
Gangwon-do
Tel:033-571-3114
-ULSAN MBC
www.usmbc.co.kr
409-1, Hakseong-dong, Jung-gu, Ulsan
Tel:052-290-1114
-WONJU MBC
www.wjmbc.co.kr
1023-70, Hakseong-dong, Wonju, Gangwon-do
Tel:033-741-8114
-YEOSU MBC
www.ysmbc.co.kr
101-1, Munsu-dong, Yeosu, Jeollanamdo
Tel:061-650-3333
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
49
KOREA EDUCATIONAL
BROADCASTING SYSTEM (EBS)
www.ebs.co.kr
92-6, Umyeon-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-526-2000

SBS
www.sbs.co.kr
SBS Broadcasting Center, 920, Mok1-dong,
Yangcheon-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-2061-0006
CHEONGJU BROADCASTING (CJB)
www.cjb.co.kr
12-16, Sajik 2-dong, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju,
Chungcheongbuk-do
Tel:043-265-7000
GANGWON TELEVISION BROADCASTING
(GTB)
www.igtb.co.kr
188, Gangbyeonno, Dong-myeon, Chuncheon,
Gangwon-do
Tel:033-248-5000
GYEONGGI BROADCASTING (KFM)
www.kfm.co.kr
961-17, Yeongtong-dong, Yeongtonggu, Suwon,
Gyeonggi-do
Tel:031-210-0999
JEJU FREE INTERNATIONAL CITY
BROADCASTING SYSTEM (JIBS)
www.jibstv.com
2750, Ora 3-dong, Jeju, Jeju-do
Tel:064-740-7800
JEONJU TELEVISION CORPORATION (JTV)
www.jtv.co.kr
50
656-3, Seonosong-dong, Wansan-gu, Jeonju,

Jeollabuk-do
Tel:063-250-5200
KOREA NEW NETWORK CO.(KNN)
www.knn.co.kr
603-8, Yeonsan 4-dong, Yeonje-gu, Busan
Tel:051-850-9000
KWANGJU BROADCASTING CO. LTD.(KBC)
www.ikbc.co.kr
111-14, Seo-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju
Tel:062-650-3114
KYUNG-IN BROADCASTING LTD.
www.itvfm.co.kr
587-46, Hakik-dong, Nam-gu, Incheon
Tel:032-830-1000
OBS GYEONGIN BROADCASTING SYSTEM
www.obs.co.kr
202-7, Ojeong-dong, Ojeong-gu, Bucheon,
Gyeonggi-do
Tel:032-670-5000
TAEGU BROADCASTING CORPORATION (TBC)
www.tbc.co.kr
201-9, Dusan-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu
Tel:053-760-1900
Establishment: 995.5.14
TAEJON BROADCATING CO. LTD. (TJB)
www.tjb.co.kr
122-1, Hyo-dong, Dong-gu, Daejeon
Tel:042-281-1101
ULSAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION (UBC)
www.ubc.co.kr
1521-1, Samsan-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan
Tel:052-228-6000

Special Broadcasting

KOREA INTERNATIONAL BRODCASTING
FOUNDATION
www.arirang.co.kr
1467-80, Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-3475-5000
TRAFFIC BROADCASTING NETWORK

(TBN Key Station)
www.tbn.or.kr
171, Sindang 5-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-2230-6114
WON BUDDHISM BROADCASTING SYSTEM
(WBS Key Station)
www.wbsfm.com
1-3, Heukseok 1-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-2102-7700
BUDDHIST BROADCASTING SYSTEM

(BBS Key Station)
www.bbsi.co.kr
Dabo Bldg., 140, Mapo-dong, Mapogu, Seoul
Tel:02-705-5114
YTN FM
www.ytnradio.kr
6-1, 5-ga, Namdaemunro, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-398-8100

CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING SYSTEM

(CBS Key Station)
www.cbs.co.kr
917-1, Mok 1-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-2650-7000
Program Providers (News Channel)
PYEONGHWA BROADCASTING CORPORATION

(PBC Key Station)
www.pbc.co.kr
2-3, 1-ga, Jeo-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-2270-2114
Establishment:TV 1995.3.1 , FM 1990.4.15
SEOUL TRAFFIC BROADCASTING SYSTEM
(TBS)
www.tbs.seoul.kr
6, Munhakuijip Gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-311-5114
MBN
www.mbn.co.kr
Maekyung Media Center, 30-1, 1-ga, Pil-dong,
Jung-gu, Seoul
Tel:02-2000-3114
YTN
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Volume. 4 2010 no.2
51
Research Articles

and the Problem of the Distinction
between Facts and Opinions
Rhee June-woong jwrhee@snu.ac.kr
Associate Professor, Dept. of Communication, Seoul National University
On the basis of the observation that the journalistic distinction between facts and
opinions has been abused by Korean journalists, I argue that journalists should
consider validity claims raised in normative and descriptive speech acts in news reports and respond to them separately. The abuse of the distinction between facts and
opinions is discussed within the context of journalistic practices and routines. The
discussion leads to both recognition of the impossibility of the distinction and understanding of journalists motivations to maintain the principle of distinction between
facts and opinions. Habermas conception of universal pragmatics is introduced to
analyze the constitutive characteristics of validity claims in communication aimed at
understanding. Employing the concept of universal pragmatics, I propose that journalists take responsibility from their reporting by responding separately to both truth
and righteousness validity claims in descriptive and normative speech acts in their
reports.

Key words:Tendentiousness of Korean journalism, Distinction between facts and

opinions, Dichotomy of facts and values, Habermas universal pragmatics,
journalistic objectivity.
The aim of this paper is to explore the

way for coping with tendentiousness, one
of the major problems in Korean journalism. Journalistic tendentiousness refers to
a deliberate effort to drive news stories in a
direction so that they may influence readers
and watcher in a specific way.
Although expressions in headlines and

leads, storylines, and quotes of interviews
may reveal tendentiousness so that it is
identifiable in news text, it is assumed that it
primarily involves perspectives taken in editorial decision, journalistic motivations, and
journalists frames of mind as well as jour-
This is an English translation of an article in Vol.54, No.1(February 2010) of Korean Journal of Journalism &
communication Studies issued by the Korea Society for Journalism & communication Studies
52
nalists behaviors. Traditional terms such as

journalistic bias, imbalance, or partiality have
utilities in analyzing news texts, journalists
motivation and behavior. But I believe it is
tendentiousness that drives motivations and
behaviors that substantiate bias, imbalance,
partiality.
Korean readers recognize the tendentiousness of Korean journalism. According to
Media Audience Attitude Survey that Korea Press Foundation examined 5,000 adults
in 2008, the citizens worried about the problem related to tendentiousness such as political partiality, ideological inclination, and
selfishness to own companies. For example,
69% of the respondents agreed that newspaper stories were politically partial. Also,
68% agreed that newspapers set priority
over their own interests rather than public
interests, and 66% did that they spoke for
the interests of wealthy and powerful people. The evaluation for broadcasting news
was not much different. That is, 63% of the
respondents agreed with politically partial,
and also 61% with priority over their own
interests rather than public interests,
It seems that the traditional way to cope
with tendentiousness is to maintain the journalism principle of the distinction between
facts and opinions, or strictly speaking the
distinction between factual propositions and
opinion propositions. Since tendentiousness
comes from intervention of value, ideology
and judgment to factual news reports, the
principle says it is desirable to exclude them
and provide only facts. It continues the
abuse intended by apparently tendentious
journalists can be lessened by clarifying that
if specific values, ideologies, and judgments
are presented in news articles, those should

be categorized as opinions. The Guideline
for Press Ethics Practice of the Korea
Press Ethics Commission includes the rule
concerning distinction between facts and
opinions. Sub-section 1, Section 3 describes,
Reporters ought to write news stories by
clearly distinguishing facts from opinions.
They must not write or select news story by
biased views or selfish motives.
However, the principle of distinction between facts and opinions is terribly violated
and easily disregarded in Korean journalism. Even some journalists do not respect
the principle as a respectable ethical code
or a norm. Some journalists believe that
the distinction between facts and opinions
is possible, and also ought to be distinguished, while many reporters believe that
is impossible, but nonetheless we should
make an effort in the direction. Not a few
newspapermen, what is worse, maintain
that such distinction is impossible, and we
do not need endeavor for it.1 Although the
suspicion and doubt about the distinction
between facts and opinions are widespread,
it is hard to find the systematic discussion
and serious reflection about it. Is it possible
to overcome the tendentiousness of Korean
journalism by observing the classical journalism norm under this condition?
As a way to correct the tendentiousness
of Korean journalism, this paper suggests
that the news media should respond by
distinguishing validity claims about truth
and justice through amending and extending the traditional journalism norms such
as the news media should report facts and
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
53
Research Articles
opinions. The traditional journalism norm

related to this matter includes the following three premises. First, the distinction
between facts and opinions is essential to
journalism ethics; second, the dichotomy
of facts and values as the theoretical basis
of the distinction between facts and opinions is possible; third, by enforcing the
distinction between facts and opinions,
the tendentiousness of journalism can be
mitigated. Unfortunately, I believe, the first
premise is doubtful, the second impossible,
and the third not inevitable. Thus, it seems
to be inconsistent that the core point of this
paper argues that the distinction between
facts and opinions is possible and yet the
tendentiousness it brings about should be
effectively coped with. Also, it seems to
make an unnecessary assertion that where
separation between facts and opinions cannot completely overcome the tendentiousness of journalism, one should try to do
so. The task of this paper is to get through
these contradictions and develop a coherent
argument.
Problems of Tendentiousness in
Korean Journalism
According to deliberation results of the Korea Press Ethics Commission, the Guideline
of Press Ethics Practice, Sub-section 1,
Section 3 has been routinely violated, and
the number of cases were increasing lately.
Among the deliberation cases of the Korea
Press Ethics Commission, 10 cases were
decided to have violated the rule of the distinction between facts and opinions in 2007.
54
The number of cases went up to 22 in 2008.

A review of the cases that received formal
warnings from the Commission revealed
that a violation of the rule of distinction
between facts and opinions was regarded as
one of the most glaring incidents of showing tendentiousness. Typical ways to reveal
tendentiousness in straight news reports
include selection of facts, loaded expression, and presupposed values. While these
characteristics are mainly applied to straight
news stories, features and opinions can also
be regarded as tendentious when they unjustly drive stories in one direction. That is,
even if it is true that features and opinions
are expected to contain values and ideas,
they could be considered tendentious when
they violate universal discourse ethics such
as validity, consistency, and fairness.
Glaring incidents of tendentiousness
within the cases of the Korean Press Ethics Commission raise a question as to why
Korean journalism routinely violate basic
norms of journalism and even universal
discourse ethics. Are Korean journalists
unaware of tendentiousness, or unable to
cope with it while recognizing it? Or do
they intentionally violate norms and ethics?
It seems that Korean journalists cannot be
unaware of tendentiousness. Many scholars
and commentators have addressed the problems of unfairness, partiality and ideological
orientations of Korean journalism (Kang,
2004; Lee et. al., 2006; Nam, 2008; Park,
2005; Rhee & Kim, 2008; Yoon, 2004).
Violations of journalistic norms and ethics
in major newspapers have been constantly
monitored by civil movement groups as well
as the Korean Press Ethics Commission.
Especially, election coverage has been a target of close and systematic reviews from all
parts of the political spectrum.
Even if Korean journalists recognize tendentiousness in news when they see it, there
might be some other reasons that they do
not consider it a serious problem. From the
historical perspective, tendentiousness of
Korean journalism may be rooted in the tradition of Korean journalism. Forerunners
of Korean journalists in late 19th century
such as Jang Ji-yun, Shin Chae-ho, and Seo
Jae-pil, being critical intellectuals of the day,
were actively involved in social, political activities.
Nationalism and patriotism in colonial
and civil war eras justified their political activities against common enemies against the
nation. The journalistic activities at the time
were basically political activities with a clear
intention of using news media as a tool
for emancipation or development. During
the period of democratization, then again,
Korean journalists struggled in protesting
against the authoritarian interventions with
the news media and fiercely championed
democratic values such as freedom of expression, market liberalism, and independence of the press from the government.
The Korean journalists, considering themselves freedom fighters under the authoritarian regimes, advocates of popular will,
and guardians of democratic values. They
openly promoted anti-authoritarian values
and ideologies.
The values and ideologies were systematically cultivated for aspirant young journalists
during democratization and had been transmitted from one generation of journalists to
another. From this perspective, the tendentiousness of Korean journalism was inherent in the blood vein of Korean journalism.
Some journalistic routines are constructed
around tendentiousness. For example, there
is a journalistic routine called catching
yama among Korean journalists. A story
has a yama when it is governed by a catchy
point of view or a storyline based on a particular presupposition or perspective (Song,
2006). Yama, an ambiguous concept that
different Korean journalists may identify
with different meanings and usages, refers
to (a) a thematic construction of a story,
(b) a way in which a theme is constructed
within a familiar frame of reference, or (c) a
dominant moral or political implication of a
story.
Thus when an editorial desk and a reporter discuss an event at an early stage of
covering it, they often try to catch a yama
to decide what to write (and what not to
write), how to construct a storyline, and
even whom to interview and what to cite as
main evidence. The ability to catch yama
crisply and concretely at an earlier stage of
reporting is regarded as journalistic competence required for seasoned journalists. It is
easy to see connections between the tendentiousness in news stories and the journalistic
routine to catch yama.
There is yet another source of tendentiousness. The news media could deliberately show tendentiousness with a strategic
intention. For instance, the news media targeting wealthy and politically conservative
strata of the society could intentionally hold
conservative values and ideologies in their
editorial decisions and thus foster tendenVolume. 4 2010 no.2
55
Research Articles
tiousness in their news stories.

In the same manner, news media with
reformative agenda could also strategically
maintain liberal and reformative values and
ideologies and thus foster tendentiousness
in the opposite direction. During the democratization where civil society was getting fractured across ideological camps and
political interests, the news media pursing
maximum economic returns tend to parallel
with ideological extremes instead of pursuing impartial or balanced positions in the
middle (Rhee, 2005).
Distinction between Facts and

Opinions
Tendentiousness of Korean journalism

involves journalistic value, norm, practice
and institution of journalists. In this article,
I would examine it in relation to distinction between facts and opinions. The news
stories not strictly distinguished between
facts and opinions were typical of the case
of tendentiousness. And tendentious news
routinely violates the journalistic norms of
the distinction between facts and opinions.
In this paper, however, I want to show that
there is an alternative way to cope with tendentiousness. Distinction between facts and
norms, albeit its close relationship with tendentiousness, would not be a right answer
to overcome tendentiousness of Korean
journalism.
Dichotomy of Facts and Values in Ethics
Generally, distinction between facts and
opinions was discussed in relation with di56
chotomy of facts and values.2 Dichotomy

of facts and values was provided as the
ground that journalists could usually distinguish between factual expressions and
opinions. Thus, it needs to be examined that
indeed it is possible to distinguish between
facts and values, and this distinction is worthy of being used as the basis of journalism
ethics, that is, distinction between factual
expressions and opinions.
The classical argument concerning dichotomy of facts and values could be found
in the statement, Ought cannot be deduced from is. Hume maintained that the
judgment to existence described facts. The
judgment to any what should be could not
be deduced from the judgment to existence.
Facts had always pictorial semantics to
phenomena because likeness should be
presented in order to represent any fact
(Putnam, 2002, p. 15). However, there were
thoughts that could not have a pictorial attribute. Value and virtue related to feeling or
emotion were not pictorial in the sense that
they do not represent anything of the outer
world, and thus, they could not represent a
fact. Hume thought that the dichotomy of
facts and values was possible since they represented different things.
Kant regarded that judgments related to
values had a characteristics of imperative.
That is, the judgment, to tell a lie is bad
was equivalent to the imperative, do not tell
a lie. The imperative in this case and others
does not depict or describe anything. An
imperative was not supposed to be empirically verified to a content included in desire
or emotion of a human being. It was rationally justified. Kant argued that the moral
judgment by practical reason was rational

and objective. Positivists did not agree with
Kants argument in general. They believed
that moral judgments presupposed values
and that values unlike facts could not be objectively verified. This positivistic discussion
developed into non-cognitivism or emotivism in ethics.
Every meaningful statement should be
either factual or analytic to positivists or
non-cognitivists. Based on this distinction,
a moral judgment was not factual. Facts
were assumed to be value-free and verified
by observation. However, a moral judgment
presupposed values and it cannot be established by observation.
A moral judgment, being not a factual
proposition, should be a so-called analytic
proposition in order to be utilized in objective and rational discussion producing truth
or falsehood. However, a moral judgment
was not obviously in this category either. A
moral judgment was not cognitive. It must
be a mere expression of a behavioral intention or an emotion. The moral judgment
that told something was right or should
be done was in fact a saying that its very
good! or an exclaiming do it so! Non-cognitivists could strictly distinguish between
facts and values, by objectifying the formers
and de-rationalizing the latters.
Unexpectedly, strict dichotomy of facts
and values, however, was collapsed from the
side of facts. What if each statement to argue facts cannot be verified as truth or falsehood? There was an argument to distinguish
two cases: the case to be true by mathematical demonstration or meaning association
of tautology and the case to be objectively
true by observation such as factual sentences. The former was called an analytic
proposition and the latter a synthetic. And
these two could be distinguished. However,
Quine (1960) showed that the distinction
between an analytic proposition and a synthetic proposition was impossible in itself.
He thought that what the component of
each sentence denoted the specific object
should be clear in order to identify the truth
or falsehood of each sentence through observation.
According to inscrutibility of reference
that Quine proposed, the truth and falsehood of sentences could not be decided individually. Individual synthetic proposition,
namely, factual sentence could not identify
truth and falsehood.
As Quine explained, merely every theory
corresponding to all the empirical objects
could be true or false. Therefore, the core
assumption of empiricism, that is, the
distinction between analytic and synthetic
propositions, was revealed to be a kind
of dogma. Unless the distinction between
analytic and synthetic propositions was established, the dichotomy of facts and values
would be even more suspicious.
After the distinction between analytic and
synthetic propositions which established
facts was collapsed by Quine, the theories
that premised the dichotomy of facts and
values were rapidly losing ground. As the
following three arguments have been presented, the dichotomy of facts and values
seems to be hard to maintain philosophically.
First, all factuality assumes some values.
Putnam (2002) successfully argued that all
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
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Research Articles
judgment to verify facts from the objectivist

perspective in fact presuppose some values.
This is more than saying that values are
inevitably intervened in the selection of a
theory. Rather, even within the process of
identifying each fact to verify a theory, that
is, within the process of verification, certain
values are presupposed. For instance, the
concepts such as coherence, simplicity, reasonableness, and naturalness, being essential
to a series of judgments accompanying verification of hypotheses, are a type of values
as a matter of fact. In short, facts are established in presupposing certain values.
Second, there are some concepts entangled with facts and values together. Murdoch (1971) explained that among the dailyused concepts, some were abstract and had
more abundant descriptive implications than
others.
A certain moral concept had components
of description of factual relations as well as
of simple expression of emotions. So-called
thick concepts such as being cruel, being
coward, have courage, and so on. In order
to use these concepts effectively, one has to
know features of a situation that thick concepts are applied to and moral implications
of such feature should be accurately recognized. For example, saying someone is cruel implies certain set of behaviors together
with ethical evaluation of the behaviors in
terms of valuing the behaviors. Within these
thick ethical concepts, facts and values were
entangled to the degree that could not be
untied.
Third, a value-laden judgment could be a
fact. Bond (1996) solved the problem of a
dichotomy of facts and values by arguing
58
that moral judgments implying certain values could be factual. He argued that judging
value could be objectively verified as either
truth or falsehood.
The reason was because facts were not
restricted in mere empirical facts. Bond extended the concept of fact by defining that
fact was everything to be objectively true.
If the process that a moral judgment was
reasonably justified on the basis of practical
reason could be presented, such judgment
is considered to be objectively true. As our
action being done, the reason why we acted
should be provided. If the very reason was
all acceptable on the grounds of common
sense, public good, or acceptable community values such as fulfilling promise,
fairness , benevolence and so on, then it
could be said that the judgment was reasonably justified.
Where the dichotomy of facts and values
is not sustainable, it is hopeless to justify
the journalistic distinction between facts
and opinions on the basis of the dichotomy.
However, as I would show in this article, the
distinction between facts and opinions established in journalism ethics was not in fact
deduced from the theoretical dichotomy of
facts and values.
The distinction between facts and opinions in the field of journalism was established as parts of journalists routines,
norms and ideologies. The way it is justified
was historical rather than theoretical. It is
therefore one thing to say that it is impossible to justify the dichotomy of facts and
values, and it is quite another to say that it
is hard to maintain the distinction between
facts and opinions in journalism.
Distinction between Facts and Opinions

in Journalism
Distinction between facts and opinions
was closely related to ideology of journalism objectivity. Indeed, it was the core of
journalism objectivity. As Schudson (1978,
p. 6) put it, the belief in objectivity meant
a faith in facts, a distrust of values, and a
commitment to their segregation to journalists. However, it was a problem that these
faith, distrust and commitment were historically formed and strategically managed.
Distinction between facts and opinions as
a journalistic norm was invented in the
English and American tradition that factcentered discourse was dominant in the
early 19th century (Chalaby, 1996; Mindich, 1998; Schiller, 1981; Schudson, 2001).
Particularly, the American penny press
advocated nonpartisan, impartiality and objectivity toward the 1830s, and this advocacy
arose from the attempt to distinguish their
positions from the partisan press under the
control of political parties and corporate
interests (Schudson, 1978). Contrary to the
European press that the literary and critical tradition was strong, the English and
American press pursuing independence
from partisan interests and commercialism
succeeded to institutionalize the value of
journalistic objectivity as a kind of professional ideology in the process of professionalizing the journalists (Schudson, 2001).
The penny press that aimed at commercial
success escaped from the influence of the
political parties firstly developed the norms
related to objectivity.
Therefore, distinction between facts and
opinions that the penny press stood for in
the early 19th century meant mainly detachment from partial positions or social conflicts. Detachment from political and social
conflicts was a key initiative to adopt journalistic objectivity together with norms such
as emphasis on factual reports, reverse-pyramid writing, interview skills, using quotes
and evidence and so on (Mindich, 1998).
Through the First World War, the objectivity ideology was established as a core of
professional ethics of American journalism
(Schudson, 1978). At that time, the journalists under the threats of the systematic propaganda of the government and under pressure of commercial advertising and public
relations had already recognized that objectivity in journalism was hard to achieve. It
was admitted that the factual reporting of
the day in fact helped the process in which
McCarthyism exercised an influence on the
American politics. In reporting the allegations of Senator McCarthy, American journalists tended to focus on what the Senator
said without considering the consequences
of their factual reporting.
In early 20th century, knowing that there
were limitations in objective reporting and
that the latitude of journalists handling the
objectivity was close to subjectivism, American journalists strategically strengthened
objectivity as a core of the professional
ethics. That is, the distrust of facts and concern over subjectivity rather than the trust
of facts and confirmation of objectivity
led to fortification of journalistic objectivity. In addition, they accepted the empirical
and positive principles such as verification
and exclusion of subjectivity as professional
methods for establishing facts. The distincVolume. 4 2010 no.2
59
Research Articles
tion between facts and values was introduced in this process. Even if the American
journalists widely recognized that objective
reporting was an unattainable ideal goal,
they came to believe that it could work as a
kind of a regulative ideal.
As the belief in distinction between facts
and opinions of journalism has continued
to sway after the introduction of the concept, the discussion of possibility to establish facts in news reporting got complicated. Tuchman (1978) explained the ways
in which journalists employed various techniques to establish facts in their reporting.
Where factual reports are not easy to be
confirmed by sources and evidence, journalists know how to make them look like
facts by using so-called the web of facticity. Thus (1) when a certain politician makes
an unfounded claim, journalists can write a
story on the basis of the fact that the politician claimed it even if factuality of the
claim is not established. (2) There was a way
to strengthen factuality of a news report by
linking it to personalities and institutions
with which people are familiar. Lastly, (3)
Using direct quotes, journalists can effectively make their news reports protected
from their subjective perspectives and views.
Quotations allow journalists to show off
that the statements in the reports are not
prepared by them. After all, facts and opinions seem to be effectively distinguished using these techniques. The web of facticity
creates an illusion that journalists writings
are not intervened by their opinions or judgments.
Ettema and Glasser (1998, p. 83) explain
that distinction between facts and opinions
60
of journalism is a kind of discourse strategy

that journalists carefully employ. By using
this strategy, journalists (1) could escape
from the criticism that they made a subjective moral judgment, and at the same time (2)
could drive moral implications, whenever
journalists feel necessary, toward the specific direction. Through using direct quotations or balanced quotes, they can protect
their viewpoints and also present what they
believe to be a main theme of their reports.
This is the real reason that even thought the
dichotomy of facts and values is regarded as
suspicious in ethics and philosophy, distinction between facts and opinions remains as
a meaningful and valuable norm in journalism.
These days, journalistic objectivity seems
to be a doubted yet frequently cited ideology. Many journalists do not believe in or
at least express doubts about journalistic
objectivity, but they cannot throw it away
entirely. For example, in 1996 when the Society of Professional Journalists amended
the ethical outlines, it removed the mentions about objectivity. Instead, the Society
proclaims the verification of the accuracy
of information from all the sources. Fuller
(1996) pointed out that the objectivity of
the American press declined, and no one
mentioned objective reporting any more.
However, Ettema and Glasser (1998) indicated that journalists actually did not abandon the objectivity ideology.
Based on the interviews with Pulitzer
winning investigative reporters, Ettema
and Glasser concluded that the journalists
tended to say that application of empirical
methods was more important than con-
science in their writing. It was shown that

the American journalists were still likely to
report stories by using the maxim such as
the facts speak for themselves or we only
give the information, and readers should decide on it. The Elements of Journalism, was
a consequence of an attempt to base principles of journalism ethics on reflections on
practices of American journalists. The book
shows that journalists are inevitably dependent upon the notions of objectivity and
truth while suspicious about them (Kovach
& Rosenstiel, 2001). The authors of the
book confessed that searching for the truth
was not only the most important mission of
journalists but also was a confused principle.
They then accentuated that it is important
to search for the truth through verification
and synthesis.
It seems that journalists were apt to use
at their convenience. Sometimes they look
confused, but usually they do know to what
extent they have to rely on it. That is, although journalists seem swayed by the fact
that it is hard to maintain the distinction
between facts and opinions, they skillfully
justify their activities using the notion when
it is required. In conclusion, the principle
of distinction between facts and opinions
tends to be utilized in two different ways.
First, it can help to hide the fact that journalists cannot avoid making value judgment
in many steps in news reporting. Second,
through this hiding, journalists can address
their own concern more effectively.
Ettema and Glasser (1998, p. 89) indicated
the two different ways of using the principle
as the irony of journalism and the mel-
ancholy irony of irony, respectively. They

warned that this dualistic principle could be
a refined and effective journalism strategy
in practice, but self-destructive at the same
time. I believe then it is not important to
corroborate whether journalists behave with
the irony and the dual irony or not. The
principle of distinction between facts and
opinions is extensively used by different
journalists for different reasons: Some naively believe in distinction between facts and
opinions; others play with it with ironies;
still others strategically use it to hide their
tendentiousness.
Journalism Ethics on Truth Claim

and Rightness Claim
Philosophers have demonstrated the impossibility of dichotomy of facts and values,

while journalists have used distinction
between facts and opinions strategically.
In this paper, I argue that tendentiousness
of Korean journalism can be lessened by
adopting a new conceptualization of distinction between facts and opinions. How
is it possible to lessen tendentiousness with
the understanding that distinction between
facts and opinions are routinely violated
and at the same time strategically utilized by
Korean journalists? Before proceeding to
my argument, some premises and concepts
needed to be discussed.
and Distinction between Factual
Expressions and Opinions
It should be re-emphasized that theoretiVolume. 4 2010 no.2
61
Research Articles
cal arguments in ethics such as ought cannot be deduced from is or value was not
fact that could be verified objectively do
not have a consequential implication for
journalists distinction between facts and
opinions.
As it was earlier shown through observations and discussions of Schudson,
Tuchman, Ettema and Glasser, and others, journalists do not employ the principle
of distinction between facts and opinions
since they trust facts and distrust values, or
vice versa. They have developed the principle and regarded it as an ethical norm of
journalism because they find it to be useful to justify their journalistic practices and
routines. I thus take the observation made
by Ettema and Glasser to be the premise
of my argument. That is, journalists justify
their practices and strengthen their roles by
strategically employing the principle of distinction between facts and opinions. Therefore, sometimes they seem to make use of
the principle as an excuse for the ethical
claim that they do not really believe. Or
they sometime use it as a mythological tool
to deliberately put forward their subjective
judgment in reporting.
Viewed in this way, the reason that tendentiousness of Korean journalism is
maintained is particularly troublesome. First
of all, is Korean journalism tendentious
because it does not fully internalize the
journalistic principle of distinction between
facts and opinions, or because it exploits the
principle to cover tendentiousness? Second,
do we have to encourage the distinction
or to discourage it in order to cope with
tendentiousness? The fact that different
62
journalists have different ideas about the

principle suggests there would be no single
answer to the first question. It is harder to
answer the second question because tendentiousness of Korean journalism would not
be lessened just by observing distinction between facts and opinions. Considering that
tendentiousness of Korean journalism was
historically formed, closely associated with
journalistic routine activities such as catching yama, and even strategically sought after
by some shrewd journalists, it is even harder
to answer the second question. What is to
be done? I propose that tendentiousness of
Korean journalism can be alleviated when
journalists distinguish and justify separately
the two different validity claims in their reporting activities.
Basic Concepts in Universal Pragmatics
Habermas (1976/1979) introduced the
notion of universal pragmatics from the
perspective that communicative competence
of every language users could be reconstructed to show the condition for reaching
an understanding through communication.
It was systematically reconstructed through
formal analysis of intuitive knowledge of
any language user rather than through empirical synthesis of daily language of some
language users.
Habermas methodology was similar to
what Chomsky (1957) employed to reconstruct linguistic competence. The methodology leads us to a system of ability to
produce infinite individual sentences and to
distinguish between grammatical and nongrammatical sentences. According to Habermas every communication has the structural
basis on which individual communication

skills had the meaning and made acceptable.
They are validity claims on truth, rightness,
and sincerity that competent communicators demand in communication acts. These
validity claims could be cognitively verified,
and thus, provided a rational foundation of
communicative action.
Based on the speech act theory of Austin,
Habermas noticed every communication
was functionally multiply operated. For
example, when a person says to another, I
will call you, the communicated content is
the proposition I will call you, but at the
same time, an appointment is being made
between the two persons.
That is to say, communication is simultaneously operated (1) at the content level
of proposition, that is, what was communicated, and (2) at the inter-subjectivity
level where the understanding of speakers
and hearers took place through illocutionary acts. The former involves content of
communication and the latter concerns
an interaction in relationship. The former
represents facts while the latter does the
function of establishing an interpersonal
relationship. That is to say, different two dimensions of communication simultaneously
occurs according to two different functions
of speech acts. In addition to these, Habermas showed (3) there is a communication
dimension that claims intention and sincerity of the speaker.
Every communication simultaneously is
assumed to include the three validity claims.
In reality, one of the validity claims may be
thematically emphasized so that it come forward while others work behind the scene.
For example, the validity claims to truth

about the contents of proposition stand out
in descriptive speech acts while the validity
claims to suitability of interpersonal relations work latently.
In addition, even if the sincerity of the
speaker is assumed in this particular case, it
can be working in background not standing
out in front of descriptive speech acts. On
the other hand, in case of regulative speech
acts, the validity claim to the rightness
of the interpersonal relations established
through interaction may come forward
while other claims work in background.
Habermas system of communication
competence is shown in Table 1. Communication competence consists of three thematic validity claims including (1) cognitive
descriptive speech to claim whether the contents of proposition is true, (2) interactive
normative speech to claim whether interpersonal relations are right or proper, and
(3) expressive recognition speech to claim
whether the intention of speaker is sincere.
The descriptive speech to claim truth performs representation of facts. It indicates
the speakers objective attitude to the external world.
The normative speech to claim righteousness or appropriateness performs the function to set legitimate interpersonal relations.
It shows norm-confirming attitudes to
social relations of the community including
the speaker and the listener.
Finally, the expressive speech to claim sincerity performs the function to disclose the
subjectivity of speaker. It is associated with
the expression of the speakers subjective
world.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
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Research Articles
Table 1 : Communication Competence according to Communication Manners and

Thematic Validity Claims
Universal
Language
Function
Communication
Manners & Basic
Attitude
Types of
Speech Acts
Cognitive:
Objectivating
Attitude
Constatives
Propositional
Content
Truth
The World of
External Nature
Representation
of Facts
Interactive:
Conformative
Attitude
Regulatives
Interpersonal
Relation
Righteousness,
Appropriate-ness
Our Social
Worlds
Establishment
of Legitimate
Interpersonal
Relations
Expressive:
Expressive
Attitude
Avowals
Intention of
Speaker
Truthfulness
My Internal
Worlds
Disclosure of
Speakers
Subjectivity
Thematic
Validity Claims
Theme
Demonstrative Speech and Normative

Speech of the Press
I propose that distinction between facts
and opinions of journalism should be replaced with distinction between validity to
truth and validity to righteousness. In this
way, the ethical responsibility of journalism
is not restricted to a narrow dimension of
identifying and maintaining distinction between facts and opinions.
It becomes a set of activities that respond
to different validity claims separately with
different ways to deal with them. Journalists
perform descriptive speech acts to provide
true or false statements with regard to external events and facts. They also practice
normative speech to decide right or wrong
concerning some values such as peace and
goodness of community. These two speech
acts are in fact always entangled within a
concrete setting. Yet, the contents of validity claims in these two speech acts are
conceptually distinguishable, and thus, the
ethical problems that journalists perform
corresponding to these validity claims can
64
Area of
Reality
also be distinguishable.
Within the framework of Habermasian
understanding of universal pragmatics, the
traditional journalistic norm of distinction
between facts and opinions does not make
much sense. The traditional attempts to distinguish facts from opinions only begin to
identify a part of the real problem in journalistic speech acts.
It is not separation of facts and opinions
in content of journalistic reporting and
commentaries that is required to deal with
any problem with tendentiousness. Rather,
the different functions of speech acts in
reporting and commentaries should be addressed differently and dealt with properly.
For example, assume that there is a straight
news story written with loaded expressions
so as to reveal tendentiousness of the reporter. Traditional journalism ethics says
that this kind of tendentiousness can be alleviated by separating subjective expression,
evaluation, or value judgment from factual
reports. However, many observations on
journalistic routines and behaviors have al-
ready shown that the problem of this kind

cannot be solve in this simplistic way.
In order to cope with the problem, I propose, journalists should admit that every
news story contain multiple functions of
speech acts and that they should respond to
different validity claims in different ways. In
this particular example, the report should
justify his or her expression in terms of answering to the validity claim to sincerity of
the loaded expression with relevant grounds.
And this response is distinguished from the
constative validity claim of the factual reports that he or she provides.
News media almost always perform communication acts that presents facts, namely,
the claims with regard to truth of propositional contents they provide. Then, almost
always they also provide subjective expressions together with the factual reports. Not
only this, but values and norms are presupposed in every factual report of news media. For example, the epistemological values
such as accuracy, validity, relevancy, and so
on are presupposed in every report. Only by
presupposing these kinds of values, factual
reports can do what they are supposed to
do, that is, providing factual information.
Thus, news media should always prepare
for answering the question as to what values
and norms are presupposed in factual reports for what reason and for whose interests.
The normative speech act is unavoidable in any activity of reporting as well as
commentating in news media. For instance,
news media routinely urge to overcome
some community crisis, ask to avoid social
waste, and direct audience attention to some
causes. These kinds of normative speech

acts of journalism are naturally right or
wrong, or belong to somewhere in the middle. When members of citizens raise questions regarding the validity of righteousness
in the speech acts, news media should take
the ethical responsibility to respond to the
questions. In other words, the justification
to the normative speech acts is always required. If the validity claims to normative
speech acts of journalism are not properly
dealt with, news media in effect fail to establish mutual and reciprocal relations with
the audience and the sources, and finally
lose their trust. This is the reason for which
news media try to maintain a series of values presupposed in the normative speech
acts pertaining to journalism, namely, the
classical journalistic values such as diversity,
fairness, balance, and so on. However, the
responsibility is not confined to normative
speech acts.
The statements in the normative speech
acts may contain factual information with a
truth claim even if they are not thematically
emphasized. Thus, whenever normative
speech acts are thematized and examined on
a demand of responding to the righteousness validity claim, factual components
of content work in background and are at
the same time subject to a truth claim. For
example, a feature story about community
crisis cannot be justified when it is based on
false information.
Separate responses to different validity
claims raised in descriptive and normative
speech acts that I insist in this paper look
similar to the distinction between facts and
opinions in tradition ethics of journalism.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
65
Research Articles
Table 2 : Descriptive and Normative Speech Acts in Journalism

Speech
Types
Thematic Validity
Claims
Effect of Violation
Reserved Condition
Justification Strategy
Descriptive
Truth
Inducement of
False Belief
Verification of Facts is
Procedural
Empirical Verification, Valid

Inference Making
Normative
Righteousness,
Appropriate-ness
Relational Crisis,
Trust Crisis
Social Norms were

sometimes
Oppressive
Application of Fairness,
Impartiality, Diversity,
Quality and so on.
However, I emphasize that the former

is completely different from the latter in
that the former requires journalists to answer to multiple claims raised in each and
every news story. The latter only demands
an observation of a procedural rule. Thus,
separate responses to different validity
claims should not be confused with strategically maintained norms such as distinction
between facts and opinions of journalists.
They do not share anything with the metaphysical dichotomy of facts and values in
ethics.
Distinction between the descriptive and
normative speech acts and separate responses to the validity claims can contribute
to strengthening journalists responsibility in
news writing. The make it clear that multiple
validity claims can be made to the same news
report and that journalists should answer
to them separately in order to be responsible. For example, it would be alright that
journalists who believe they can distinguish
facts from opinions try to be objective and
accurate about their straight reporting. But
as long as they do not properly respond to
righteousness validity claims raised in the
descriptive speech acts of the straight news,
they are not fully responsible. That is, behaving this way, the journalists may unconsciously contribute to aggravating the tendentious66
ness of their reporting. On the other hand,

journalists who are keen to distinguish different functions of speech acts in their straight
reporting and commentaries and respond to
them separately are responsible.
Summary and Suggestions
In this paper, I examined previous discussions of the journalistic principle of distinction between facts and opinions and
proposed that the distinction should be
replaced with the differential responses to
different validity claims in news. Separate responses to the truth validity claims and the
righteousness validity claims allow journalists to cope with the problems induced by
tendentiousness. It is pointless to determine
whether each sentence, phrase, or story of
news reports or commentaries is factual or
value-laden because it is neither possible
nor desirable to maintain dichotomy of
facts and values. I showed, moreover, the
dichotomy of facts and values has little to
do with the journalistic principle of distinction between facts and opinions. As an
alternative way to cope with the distinction
between facts and opinions, I propose that
one should answer to the different validity
claims with different responses. In other
words, it was more important to answer to

the validity claims assumed in each and every report and opinion in news rather than
try to do what could not or should not be
done about the distinction between facts
and opinions.
In the previous section dealing with the
problem of tendentiousness in Korean
journalism, I provided six different kinds
of tendentiousness one can identify in typical editorials, commentaries, and features
as well as straight news reports. For the
straight news, those were selection of facts,
loaded expression, and presupposed values.
In addition, features and opinion stories
could reveal tendentiousness when they violate discourse ethics such as validity, consistency, and fairness. Based on the arguments
provided in this article, now I present the

way to cope with the particular problems
one can identify in tendentious reports or
features and opinions as follows.
Table 3 summaries the ways to cope with
the validity claims typically raised against
the straight reports and opinions revealing
tendentiousness in Korean news media. The
validity claims typically raised to each of
the revealing cases of tendentiousness are
shown in the third column. And journalism
ethics relevant to the validity claims is provided in the fourth column together with
the practical rules to adopt to cope with the
validity claims in the fifth. The last column
thus contains some practical rules that journalists would find useful in responding the
different types of validity claims.
Table 3 : Practical Rules for Overcoming Tendentiousness of Journalism

News
Types
Tendentious
Features
Straight
News
Selecting
Facts
Claim to the
Scope of Truth
Completeness
- Searching for Background Data

- Interview with Related Sources
Loaded
Expressions
Claim to Sincerity
of an Expression
in Constative
Speech Acts
Sincerity
- Do not Add
- Presenting Grounds of Expression
Presupposed
Values
Claim to Relevancy
in Constative
Speech Acts
Relevancy of
Presupposed
Values
- Transparency of the Motivation

of Reporting
- Considering the Interests of
Expected Readers
Groundless
Opinions
Claim to Truth
as a Premises in
Normative
Speech Acts
Valid Ground for a

Normative
Assertion
- Collection of Related Data

- Checking the Factuality of
Background Information
Inconsistence
Claim to the
Consistency in
Normative
Speech Acts
Consistency in
Sincerity
- Examining Past Assertions

- Considering Situation Logics
Unfairness
Claim to the
Fairness of
Normative
Speech Acts
Fair Consideration
to the Parties
Concerned
- Reflecting the Relevant Voices of the

Parties Concerned
- Finding Proper Spokesman for the
Voiceless
Opinion
News
Validity Claims
Raised
Relevant Journalism Ethical Values
Practical Rules of Journalists
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
67
Research Articles
For example, in cases that the straight

news does not contain the whole story by
arbitrarily selecting some of them, a validity
claim to the scope of the truth can be raised
so that the journalist who writes the particular news story should respond to this claim.
The traditional ethical value relevant to this
kind of validity claim is completeness.
Thus it is required that the journalist should
search for background data within a wider
scope and find related sources for further
interviews.
Loaded expressions are always a target of
the validity claims. It is problematic to add
expressions that implicate specific values or
norms in describing a situation. Typically
the validity claims to sincerity of the expressions is raised in this kind of situation. To
respond to this kind of validity claim, one
should avoid unnecessary expressions or
present valid grounds for his or her expressions in reports.
In addition, there might be values and
norms presupposed in straight news reports.
Seeing this kind of reports, news readers
or commentators may raise validity claims
to relevancy of the values and norms in the
straight news reports. Journalists then can
respond to the claims by providing relevant
motivation of the reports, or clarifying the
underlying motivation involves none other
than the interests of expected readers. By
doing this, journalists may successfully cope

with the problem associated with journalistic tendentiousness not by abiding by the
traditional rule of distinction between facts
and opinions but by responding to the validity claims raised in the particular context.
One of the biggest problems in the tendentiousness of commentaries and editorials
is to present opinions not based on factual
information. A truth validity claim aiming
at factuality and correctness can be raised to
this kind of problem. Journalists may want
to respond to the validity claims by collecting relevant data and verifying the factuality
of background information. Likewise, the
validity claims to consistency and fairness
can be made to opinions and commentaries
revealing inconsistencies and unfairness. In
order to uphold journalistic ethical values
of consistency, journalists are required to
examine past reports and commentaries so
that they can sort out inconsistencies or provide reasons for the inconsistent opinions.
In addition, with regard to the validity claim
raised to fairness, journalists have a duty to
represent voices of all the parties concerning the case. Where there is no voice for a
significant party, journalists should look for
a proper spokesman for the party so that
all concerning parties can have representing
voices in opinions and commentaries.
NOTE
1 I asked whether distinction between facts and opinions is possible and/or desirable to
34 deputy-directors or higher in major newspapers in South Korea, who were present
at a journalist professional seminar in June, 2009. Among them, 8 journalists answered
68
that the distinction was possible and it should be maintained whenever possible. Six of
them said that although it is impossible to distinguish facts from opinions, we should
try to nonetheless. Five found impossible to maintain the distinction and thus unnecessary to do. Others did not answer.
2 To be more strict, distinction between facts and opinions was actually distinction between factual and subjective propositions represented in sentences. Thus, if possible,
it was always better to use the expression of distinction between factual and opinion
propositions. But distinction between factual and subjective propositions is different
from the dichotomy of facts and values. The former involves the issue of whether
there is an attitudinal component in a proposition, whereas the latter address the issue
of whether it is possible to construct a proposition with a clear distinction between
facts and values. Generally, the dichotomy that the latter referred to was used as a premise of the former. As I show in this article, the reasoning behind the premise is not
necessarily true since the former can be ritualized in journalistic practices despite the
impossibility of the latter.
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70
A Study on Press Arbitration System

in South Korea :
Focusing on its Functions of Conflict Resolution
and Reinforcing the Role of Mediation
Kim Yung-wook
Lim Yu-jin
Professor, School of Communication, Ewha Womans University

Doctoral Student, School of Communication, Ewha Womans University
This study examines the history, background and meaning of the Press Arbitration
System to mark the major change that went into effect on Aug. 8, 2009 in South
Koreas unique media-source dispute resolution system. In particular, of the various
press arbitration functions, this study focuses on mediation and its fundamental role,
and explores the systems potential as a tool to resolve the fundamental conflicts between media and source. In addition, this study scrutinizes the operation details and
user satisfaction level of the current system in a bid to see whether the Press Arbitration System plays its function properly.The results show that arbitrations real meaning has been misunderstood in a South Korean setting, and the current systems
mediation function has been mainly used to resolve conflicts as quickly as possible as
an alternative to legal settlements. The findings suggest that all the parties involved
should make efforts to help the Press Arbitration System play a communicationoriented role to resolve the fundamental conflicts between media and source.

Keywords: Press Arbitration, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mediation, Conflict

Resolution between Media and Source
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, the media sector is going
through a major shift due to the advent of
new channels spearheaded by new technologies in Internet and satellite broadcast amid
the explosive growth of users. The greater

influence of media, however, means that
it is now important to resolve the conflicts
and address the damages generated by media reports. Once a media report ends up
hurting a person or company either directly
This is an English translation of an article in Vol.54, No.1(February 2010) of Korean Journal of Journalism &
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
71
Research Articles
or indirectly, it is very difficult to restore the

damaged entity to its original form. At the
same time, the dispute is likely to cost both
media organizations and sources a great
deal of time and energy. Previous studies
demonstrated that there is a great gap in
perception about what false reports constitute (Kim Yung-wook & Lim Yu-jin, 2008),
and this difference in perception should be
addressed by a systematic policy. As such,
more efficient and fundamental conflictresolving tools are in order while there is a
media-source gap about false reports and a
heightened sense of rights on the part of
sources in connection with conflicts with
media organizations.
Lee Jae-jin & Yoo Jea-woong (2004)
showed two methods for compensating for
the damage generated by false reports: a legal procedure such as lawsuits and non-judicial procedure through the Press Arbitration
Commission. They especially focused on
the Alternative Dispute Resolution, which
is a major route to resolve the media-source
disputes in a non-judicial fashion in consideration of specific Korean situations and related practices. Under the system, a conflict
gets resolved not through a court ruling but
through support from a third party and voluntary decisions of the parties involved.
In the Korean situation, one of the main
dispute resolution systems is the Press Arbitration System. The current arbitration system traces back to the basic media law legislated in 1980 (Yang Kyeong-seung, 2004;
Yang Sam-sung, 2005), and after several
amendments, todays Act on Press Arbitration and Remedies, etc. for Damage Caused
by Press Reports has been set up as a single
72
law devoted to the issue. Further, a revision

was made to the law in August 2009 that
strengthened the regulations on the Internet
and online news portals. This reflected the
recent rise of the Web as a source of news
for mainstream users. Against this development, this study attempts to revisit how the
Press Arbitration System in Korea has been
evolving and whether the system indeed
helps resolve the conflict between media
and source in terms of its original function
of the mediation system.
In fact, questions were raised over the effectiveness of the 2005 press arbitration law,
despite the seriousness of the damage stemming from the conflict between media and
source. In addition, there was no discussion
of the perceptional gap between media and
source over the definition of false reports
and possible measures to resolve the issue.
This study examines the current Press
Arbitration System of South Korea, particularly the mediation system, to see whether it
provides a fundamental conflict resolution
between media and source by reviewing
various existing documents and secondary
data in order to come up with alternative
policy measures. Up until now, most studies focused on the systems effectiveness
from the judicial perspective and the relief
for those who suffered damages due to
false reports, while failing to investigate the
systems fundamental role and significance.
Therefore, this study attempts to go beyond
the relief for the victims of false reports.
It intends to highlight the fundamental approach to conflict resolution between media
and source by reviewing the Press Arbitration System, a uniquely South Korean alter-
native dispute resolution system, to explore

the potential of the system as an ideal approach to resolve the media-source conflicts. Of various functions of the Press Arbitration System, special attention is paid to
the mediation system, which is essentially
linked to the essential of communications,
and what meaning and potential mediation
can take as an approach to resolve conflicts
between media and source.
BODY
1. Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR) and Mediation
1) Various Alternative Dispute

Resolution Systems
In the past 20 years, the use of nonjudicial systems including mediation and
arbitration, so-called Alternative Dispute
Resolution has been on the rise in the West.
The popularity of the non-judicial systems reflects its advantages: lower cost and
shorter time, relatively harmonious conflict
resolutions through unofficial procedures,
minimization of dependence on the law,
and formation of long-term relationships
between the parties involved. In the late
1980s, a movement was started to encourage the use of mediation, which is one of
the various dispute resolution options of
the Alternative Dispute Resolution, and the
system itself gained specialty, drawing more
attention (Goldberg et al, 1999).
The Alternative Dispute Resolution is an
approach to conflict resolution designed to
circumvent public litigation or other adjudicative processes. This alternative dispute resolution system has gained popularity in modern society as the conflicts become more
complicated, influx of litigation and the
increasing costs of such adjunctive processes
(Chung Nam-chul, 2009; Ryu Seung-hun,
2009; Kwon Oh-gon, 1996; Menkel-Meadow
et al., 2006). In addition, this alternative dispute resolution is in the limelight in recent
years as it tends to resolve conflicts in the
longer term and allows for more creative,
productive and flexible dispute-resolution
measures. (Ryu Ji-tae, 2004; Yang Kyeongseung, 2004; Ryu Seung-hun, 2009).
The Alternative Dispute Resolution generally breaks down to arbitration (binding
and non-binding), mediation and negotiation; or an array of hybrid systems, combining elements of arbitration and mediation.
(Menkel-Meadow, 2007; Menkel-Meadow et
al, 2006; Wall & Callister, 1995; Kim Yungwook, 2008). A common characteristic of
the Alternative Dispute Resolution in the
existing studies is that of the non-judicial
systems. Arbitration and mediation refers to
a resolution through a third-party, while in
negotiation the process bypasses any third
party and the conflict is resolved between
the two main parties themselves (MenkelMeadow et al., 2006).
Previous studies (Menkel-Meadow et al.,
2006; Goldberg et al., 1999; Menkel-Meadow, 2007) argue that arbitration is the most
traditional form among non-judicial conflict
resolution systems as the parties involved
and a neutral third-party arbitrator pursue a
resolution of the conflict in a legally binding
way, which is closer to a legal ruling comVolume. 4 2010 no.2
73
Research Articles
pared with mediation.

Namely, arbitration is characterized as the
most formal, binding and obligatory form
among the non-judicial systems. Because
the third-party arbitrators decision is crucial, the final outcome depends largely on
the knowledge and ability of the third party.
Besides, the method is relatively swift and
less expensive, but it does not leave any legal precedent or set up a social norm, often
ending up with a less comprehensive conclusion that reflects a winner-loser perspective. Arbitration, meanwhile, takes binding
or non-binding form.
In addition to this general categorization,

Arbitration can take many different form
(Menkel-Meadow et al., 2005; Kim Yungwook, 2008): the parties involved in the
conflict may offer several options and the
third party chooses the best possible option;
a third party initially plays a mediatio role
and when the efforts fail, puts out a binding
decision in a hybrid format called mediation-arbitration; and summary jury/judge
trials, which exclude the decision of a third
party. In the mediation-arbitration system, a
third party plays the role of both mediator
and arbitrator.
Table 1 : Characteristic of Various Dispute Resolution Methods

Judicial System
Non-judicial System
Lawsuit
Arbitration
Mediation
Negotiation
Participation
Involuntary
Voluntary
Voluntary
Voluntary
Formality
Strict
Less formal
Non-formal
Non-formal
Cost & Time
High /Long
Hours
Less than lawsuit, less

time
Low / Swift
Essence of
Procedure
Chance to
express
evidence,
arguments
No chance to express
evidence, arguments
Non-binding expression of evidence, argument, interest
Non-binding
expression of evidence,
argument, interest
Neutral
Third-Party
Member
Third party
member
Third party
member selected by
the parties
Third party
member selected by
the parties (minimum
involvement)
None
Binding of
Resolution
Binding
Binding/non-binding
Non-binding
Non-binding
Result
Decision based
on principle
Principle-based
decision, or
compromise
Pursuit of agreement
that can be mutually
agreed
Pursuit of agreement
that can be mutually
agreed
Resolution
Type
Public
Private
Private
Private
Resolution
Perspective
Win-lose, loselose
Win-lose
Win-win
*(Compiled from Goldberg et al., 1999; Hoffman, 2000; Menkel-Meadow et al., 2006; Menkel-Meadow, 2007)
74
The characteristics of mediation are smaller involvement of a third party and greater
control by the parties decision-making over
the conflict resolution, greater understanding and satisfaction of a result (Hoffman,
2000).
Just like arbitration, mediation is faster
and less expensive than formal judicial processes, while leaving no legal precedent or
social norm. It may favor a party of greater
social power, and produce less clear resolution compared with arbitration. In addition,
mediation has an advantage as an integrative
system for parties who want a win-win resolution to maintain their mutual relations for
the longer term.
It is important to select an appropriate
conflict resolution system for each case
because the above-mentioned conflict resolution systems play different roles and may
not be suitable for some disputes (MenkelMeadow et al., 2006).
2) Meaning of Mediation
This study focuses on mediation among
various Alternative Dispute Resolution systems in order to explore the fundamental
function of mediation as an approach to resolve the conflict between media and source
and whether it can be properly used in the
Korean situation.
Mediation is a non-binding conflict resolution system that a neutral third party

mediator helps the parties to find mutual
agreeable solutions by themselves. The
meaning and function of mediation, however, can change drastically, depending
on the role of the third party involved.
(Menkel-Meadow et al., 2006; Riskin,

1996; Kovach, 2005). A third party mediators role is generally defined as either
evaluative or facilitative (Riskin, 1996;
Kovach, 2005; Scanlon, 2005). Evaluative
mediators, such as arbitrators and judges,
offer the disputants advice, evaluation and
proposals to solve the conflict, whereas
facilitative mediators help the disputants
reach a creative solution themselves by
helping understand each other and accelerate mutual communication (Kovach,
2005; Scanlon, 2005).
Aside from the two categories, more detailed definitions such as organizer, conductor, guide, solution facilitator, listener
are available (Kovach, 2005) and of the
various roles a mediator plays, a careful
listeners function is seen as an important
component for actual mediation. Another
perspective is that the mediators role can
be defined as a social network mediator
like a friend or neighbor; an authoritative mediator who relies on reputation or
fame; or an independent mediator who
offers objective advice or recommendations (Moore, 1986).
In general, a third-party mediators role is
defined as a person to facilitate the parties
communicate and understand each other
so that they can make their own decisions
(Menkel-Meadow, 2007; Friedman & Himmelstein, 2006). As such, the fact that mediators role as a communication facilitator
is stressed reflects the importance of communication in the mediation system. Many
scholars have pointed out that the most
visible characteristic of the mediation system is that disputants come to recover and
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
75
Research Articles
improve their relations through communication (Wall & Callister, 1995; Menkel-Meadow, 2007; Friedman & Himmelstein, 2006;
Kovach, 2005; Kelly, 1983; Menkel-Meadow
et al., 2006; Kim Yung-wook, 2008). They
argue that mediation is the only third-party
dispute resolution process whose purpose is
aimed at improving the relations of the parties, and mediators play the role of helping
the parties resolve the problems themselves
through communications.
This communicative role of mediators
eventually helps recover and improve the
relations of the parties involved in a dispute, while producing creative, productive
and fundamental resolution of a dispute
based on mutual understanding (Kovach,
2005; Kelly, 1983). In other words, mediation involves a third party, but it is a process
in which mediators help the parties reach a
resolution of conflicts through communication, which is nonbinding in adjunctive
proceedings, and the focus is placed on not
only resolving the conflict but also building
relations and offering chances to understand
each other.
Besides, several scholars argue that mediations essential principles include impartiality,
neutrality, confidentiality, self-determination,
and voluntariness (Kovach, 2005; Moore,
1986; Scanlon, 2005; Matz, 1994; Hoffman,
2000).
Impartiality and neutrality mean that mediators should not take sides and have no
prejudices or perceptions about resolution
methods. Confidentiality in mediation controls information derived from the process,
thereby assisting in the building of trust
between the mediator and participants. Self76
determination and voluntariness mean that

mediation helps the parties resolve conflicts
based on their voluntary attitude on the presumption that humans have free will. Meanwhile, Hoffman lists 10 principles of mediation ethics that include conflict of interest,
impartiality, voluntariness, confidentiality,
self-determination and honesty (Hoffman,
2000).
On particularly notable aspect of mediation is well illustrated in what is called caucus, referring to meetings that mediators
hold separately with each side of a dispute.
Although the efficacy of caucuses is not yet
summed up succinctly, it is generally agreed
that mediators call the caucuses with each
side of a dispute separately to work out
problems that occur during the mediation
process (Menkel-Meadow et al., 2006), and
caucuses aim to recover human emotions
and relationships on the parties involved
(Davis, 1989).
Mediation helps express and release emotions in a way that brings in amicable and
cooperative resolutions (Davis, 1989), and
enhances its value by exchanging confidential information via private communications
(Brown & Ayres, 1994).
2. South Koreas Press

Arbitration System
1) South Koreas Press Arbitration

Procedures and Operations
This study focuses on the non-judicial
alternative resolution of conflicts between
media and source in general and mediation
in particular, but for a better understanding

of the issue at hand, South Koreas Press
Arbitration System and judicial methods are
included in the discussion.
Even in the Korean situation, the methods for resolving media-source conflicts
can be divided into two categories: judicial
and non-judicial. The judicial method then
breaks down to criminal and civil disputes.
For a start, criminal disputes include Defamation (Criminal Act, Article 307, 308)
Defamation through Printed Materials
(Criminal Act, Article 309) and Injuring
Credit (Criminal Act, Article 313). Defamation occurs when a person defames another
by publicly alleging facts, and Defamation
through Printed Materials occurs when a
person commits the crime of Article 307
by means of newspaper, magazine, radio
or other publication with intent to defame
another, and Injuring Credit occurs when
a person injures the credit of another by
circulating false information or through
fraudulent means.
There are four types of civil dispute: a
claim for compensation, a request for a correction, a request for a contradictory statement and a request for making a further
report. A claim for compensation refers to
the act of a person who has been injured by
press reports files a suit seeking to receive
monetary compensation (Civil Act, Article
750; Act on Press Arbitration and Remedies, Article 30, 31). Second, a request for
a correction is where a person who suffers
any damage due to the falsity of a press report, etc. on a factual allegation, requires the
relevant press organization, Internet news
service provider and Internet multimedia
broadcasting business operator to report a

correction of the contents of such reports
(Civil Act, Article 764; Act on Press Arbitration and Remedies, Article 14).
A request for a report on a corrected
statement can be made irrespective of any
intention, negligence or illegality of the
relevant press organization (Act on Press
Arbitration and Remedies, Article 14, Clause
2). Third, a request to report a contradictory
statement (Civil Act, Article 764; Act on
Press Arbitration and Remedies, Article 16)
refers to the rights of the aggrieved party
to require the relevant press organization
to report a contradictory statement of the
contents of that press report.
Once requested, the news organization
should carry that contradictory report regardless of whether the contents of the
original report are true or false (Ham Seokcheon, 2005). Fourth, a request for making
further reports (Civil Act, Article 764; Act
on Press Arbitration and Remedies, Article
17) applies to cases in which a person who
is reported to be a suspected offender by
the press. If the criminal procedure is terminated by the final and conclusive judgment
of acquittal, the suspect named can require
the relevant press organization to make a
further report on that fact, including an explanation or elucidation necessary to restore
their violated reputation or rights.
Unlike the judicial processes mentioned
above, South Korea has a non-judicial process in which the Press Arbitration Commission (Act on Press Arbitration and
Remedies, Article 7) acts as a mediation or
arbitration agency for conflicts between media and source.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
77
Research Articles
Table 2 : Procedures of South Koreas Media-Source Conflict Resolution

Damage from reports by
broadcaster, periodical,
news wire, Internet
newspaper, Internet
news service
Request for compensation

Request for correction
Request for contradictory
statement
Request for follow-up report
Negotiation
Media, etc.

statement
Mediation /
Arbitration
Press Arbitration
Commission

news wire, Internet
newspaper, Internet
news service

statement
Civil Lawsuit
Court

news wire, Internet
newspaper, Internet
news service
Request for injunction
Court

news wire, Internet
newspaper, Internet
news service
Criminal lawsuit
Police/
Prosecution
Court

news wire, Internet
newspaper, Internet
news service
*(Press Arbitration Commission, n.d.)
In the commission-mediated settlement

of disputes, the court is not involved in the
process, and the format has the characteristics of Alternative Dispute Resolution, such
as lower costs, shorter duration, and settlement through reconciliatory moves by each
party. In other words, the system is South
Koreas representative Alternative Dispute
Resolution system (Lee Jae-jin & Yoo Jeawoong, 2004; Ryu Ji-tae, 2004; Ham Youngju, 2009; Chung Nam-chul, 2009).
The Press Arbitration Commission deploys main two methods to resolve mediasource conflicts: mediation and arbitration.
78
Just like the rights to file a civil suit in the

court, the aggrieved party can file four
claims to the Press Arbitration Commission:
a claim for compensation, a request for a
correction, a request to report a contradictory statement and a request for making
further report.
In the Korean situation, arbitration refers
to the final settlement of a dispute arising
from press reports through the decision of
the Press Arbitration Commission. Mediation refers to a process in which the Press
Arbitration Commission intervenes in the
dispute between a press organization and
the aggrieved party to push for a resolution

of the conflict.
It is notable that a third party can give a
final and binding resolution in the arbitration system led by the Press Arbitration
Commission (Chung Nam-chul, 2009; Ryu
Seung-hun, 2009). The arbitrations effect is
quasi-judicial, and is equal to an irrevocable
judgment (Act on Press Arbitration and
Remedies, Article 25). The commissions
arbitration is increasingly replacing judicial decisions, mainly because its decisionmaking procedure in the establishment of
agreement, a situation similar to reaching an
agreement, and arbitration is regulated and
enforced as strictly as a regular judicial proceeding (Yang Kyeong-seung, 2004).
Meanwhile, mediation is a process in
which a third party-mediator intervenes to
persuade the parties to resolve a conflict on
the assumption of a mutual agreement. If
the parties involved accept the agreement,
mediation achieves agreements. As the
process is based on the mutual agreement,

mediation is regarded as a better conflict
resolution method (Chung Nam-chul, 2009;
Kwon O-gon, 1996; Ryu Seung-hun, 2009;
Cho Su-jeong, 2004).
An mediation procedure starts when a
petitioner files a request at the Press Arbitration Commission (Act on Press Arbitration and Remedies, Article 18). And a settlement that the parties reach in the course of
or as a result of mediation, a case treated as
an settlement and an ex officio decision on
mediation against which an objection is not
raised shall have the same effect as a judicial
conciliation (Act on Press Arbitration and
Remedies, Article 23). If the parties fail to
reach an settlement or it is deemed that an
allegation of the claimant is well-founded,
the arbitral tribunal may, ex officio, can
make a decision in lieu of conciliation (Act
on Press Arbitration and Remedies, Article
22).
Table 3 : Differences Between South Koreas Mediation and Arbitration

Arbitration
- Press Arbitration Commission has a final say in resolving media-source conflicts

- To apply for arbitration, the claimants and respondents should agree on that decision,
and submit a document proving their agreement
- Parties must accept the outcome
- Advantage: Final and swift dispute resolution
- Disadvantage: Possibility of hurting one side unfairly
Mediation
- Press Arbitration Commission intervenes in the media-source dispute with an objective

and legal perspective, thereby helping put out mutual agreement to resolve conflicts
- If one side does not accept the outcome, the decision gets annulled and moves to the
court automatically
- Advantage: Parties decide whether they accept the outcome themselves
- Disadvantage: Imbalance in influence and power between the parties
*(Press Arbitration Commission, n.d.)

Volume. 4 2010 no.2
79
Research Articles
Table 4 : South Koreas Press Arbitration Commissions Mediation Procedures

Procedure
Contents
Application
Period
- Within 3 months after knowing there is a report in question and within 6 months after it
was first reported
Application
Steps
- The tribunal, upon receiving application, issues a document requesting the parties
attend the meeting (Two absences by claimants is deemed withdrawal, two absences by
respondents is deemed settlement)
- The tribunal actively makes efforts to achieve settlement after listening to both sides
- Proxy parties can attend the meeting when the tribunal agrees
- Procedure is not open to the public, but people involved in the case can watch the
meeting when the tribunal gives permission
- Arbitration is completed within 14 days after application is filed. When the ex officio
decision is made, the case is completed in less than 21 days
In case of
settlement
for the decision
- When agreed, the media should issue corrected, contradictory or follow-up reports and
pay any compensation owed
- When the media fails to attend the meeting twice after receiving a request for
attendance, it is deemed settlement
- Settlement has an effect like conciliation in lawsuits, and if the mediation fails to
implement the actions, the claimants can formally ask the court to enforce them
In case of
mediation
decision
- When the parties fail to agree on settlement, ex officio decision can be made
- Mediation decision has an effect like conciliation in lawsuits
- When an objection is filed against the mediation decision, it is deemed that the party has
filed a suit in court, with the claimants as plaintiffs, media as defendants
Other
procedures
- mediation failure award, rejection, dismissal, withdrawal, and other results are possible
(Press Arbitration Commission, n.d.)
To sum up the existing review of South

Koreas Press Arbitration System, first, the
procedure is deemed to have helped individuals protect their rights following false
reports. A formal lawsuit through the court
can take much time and cost, which means
that route is difficult to utilize on the part
of individual claimants, but the launch of
the Press Arbitration Commission played
a role in producing tangible results for the
claimants (Kim Ju-eon, 2001). Second, the
system helps the press organizations to
reach a settlement in a simpler process than
time-consuming legal proceedings (Chang
Ho-sun, 2005). Third, the rate of the agree80
ment struck by the parties involved edged

up, underscoring the greater relief effect
(Lee Jae-jin & Yoo Jea-woong, 2004; Kim
Seong, 2007).
2) History of Press Arbitration System
In Korea, the alternative dispute resolution method was first conceived in the legislation of the media law in 1980, which coincided with the amendment to the countrys
Constitution. At the time, the new system
was welcomed as an innovative tool to work
out agreements related to damage caused by
false reports (Yang Kyeong-seung , 2001,
2004; Yang Sam-sung, 2005). However, despite the positive assessment of the Press
Arbitration System, skepticism still lingers,
especially about the suspicion that the law is
actually intended to control the media (Yang
Kyeong-seung , 2001; Kim Chang-ryong,
2001). Existing studies focus on the fact the
Press Arbitration System is a speedy, convenient and effective method (Kim Changryong, 2001; Yang Kyeong-seung , 2001;
Kim Jae-hyup, 2005).
From the late 1980s, the press gained
more freedom, and competition among
media companies also intensified, thereby
boosting the number of dispute resolution
requests dramatically. The preference for
the Press Arbitration System, therefore, was
closely related to the surging need to secure
a fast and effective tool to provide remedies for damage caused by press reports.
In particular, the ex officio decision system,
introduced in 1996, was designed to run the
Press Arbitration System more effectively.
Ex officio decisions by the arbitration commissioners are made when the parties fail to
reach an agreement in an involvement that
is more active and direct than the Press Arbitration Commission (Kim Chang-ryong,
2001).
As shown above, the early stage of the
Press Arbitration System evolved continuously, due to the demand of the time, before reaching an important milestone in
2005 when a comprehensive amendment
was made to the Act on Press Arbitration
and Remedies, etc. for Damage Caused by
Press Reports (Yang Sam-sung, 2005). Existing studies point out several common features of the single act (Han Wee-soo 2006;
Kim Jong-bae, 2005; Kim Jae-hyup, 2005;

Kim Seong, 2007; Chung Nam-chul , 2009;
Chang Ho-sun, 2005; Hwang Yong-kyeong,
2005; Kim Suh jung, 2005; Yang Sam-sung,
2005).
First, the amendment integrated different
acts into a single one. Under the previous
acts, it was impossible to deal with compensation and requests for corrected and
contradictory reports in a seamless way, but
the revision to the law in 2005 put together
relief methods in a way that makes it more
accessible for the victims. Second, the scope
of mediation was expanded. The new law
allows the claimants to receive compensation through mediation and arbitration
processes, making it possible to resolve the
conflict stemming from false and malicious
reports in the media. Third, the parties for
mediation were also expanded. With the
advent of online media, the new system is
now covering Internet newspapers. Fourth,
more media organizations were subject to
the corrective recommendations. Previously,
regular publications were under control, but
the revision expanded the target to all media
organizations. Furthermore, not only direct
victims but also third-party claimants can
ask for a corrective recommendation via
letters. Fifth, the adoption of the arbitral tribunal brought about a change in the overall
systems function.
Previously, the role of arbitration was
vague and ambiguous; however, the revision
in 2005 drew a clear line between mediation
and arbitration, which led to the implementation of a true arbitration system with
greater efficacy.
Sixth, the principle of discretionary petiVolume. 4 2010 no.2
81
Research Articles
tion was adopted, a change from the principle of mandatory petition. In the past, the
Press Arbitration System made it impossible
for the claimant to request a correction unless the party in question went through an
arbitration procedure. Under the new principle of discretionary petition, claimants
were allowed to file a request for a corrected
statement to protect the rights of the victims.
Seventh, the number of arbitral commissioners, and their composition and tenure
were changed. Previously, the number of
commissioners was set between 40 and 80.
A revised version raised the number slightly
to 40-90.
The makeup of the commission became
more diverse. Under the new act, the commission is composed of persons who are
recommended by the Minister of Court
Administration from among judges and
who are equivalent to 1/5 of the prescribed
number of arbitration commissioners; persons who are recommended by the President of the Korean Bar Association from
among attorneys-at-law (also 1/5 of the
prescribed number); persons whose term
of service related to news gathering and/or
reports in a press organization is ten years
or more (also 1/5) and other persons who
have much knowledge and experience in the
press. As for the term of the commissioners, the previous act allowed for a three-year
term, with no restriction on its extension. In
theory, it was possible to extend tenure indefinitely. The new act, however, keeps the
term at three years and limits the number of
extensions to just one.
Eighth, the new act had different rules on
82
the period of mediation and arbitration and

the effect of absence in proceedings. Previously, the claimants application was automatically withdrawn when he or she were
not present just once at the mediation or arbitration meeting without due reason. In the
case of the media organization, failing to
attend two meetings meant an automatic decision to reach a settlement that favors the
request from the claimant. In the new act,
the automatic withdrawal of the claimant is
executed only when he or she is absent for
two meetings.
As illustrated above, drastic changes were
made in 2005 to the Act on Press Arbitration and Remedies, etc. for Damage Caused
by Press Reports. But it went through another major change in August 2009. The key
characteristic of the 2009 version centered
upon the media revolutions sparked by the
Internet, and Yang Jae-kyu (2009) sums up
the key characteristics of the revised law as
follows:
First, Internet media such as portal news
and IPTV were included in the application
of the law. Second, when a request is made
about the removal of a certain arbitral commissioner, the chief of the commission shall
appoint a new tribunal to handle the case.
Third, it has been made possible to modify
or correct a news article that is currently uploaded on the Web. Fourth, Internet news
providers are required to preserve electronic
records. Fifth, when an Internet news service provider receives a request for a report
on a corrected statement or a contradictory
statement, the Internet news service provider should, without delay, establish that there
exists such request and then shall notify
the relevant press organization which has

provided the relevant article of the contents
of such requests. Sixth, objections are possible only through written application, thus
blocking unnecessary and excessive objection or appeals. As such, the Press Arbitration System is currently finding itself in the
midst of a sweeping change in favor of the
Internet media environment, and continued
efforts are made to upgrade the system into
a more effective one that helps resolve conflicts between media and source.
Against this backdrop, South Koreas
Press Arbitration System got off to a start
filled with challenges, and yet came to play
an important role in resolving the mediasource conflicts and helping victims to
restore their reputations and receive compensation for harm caused by false reports.
This study attempts to delve into the system
further in order to examine whether it really
plays its fundamental role in resolving the
conflict between media and source.

3. Operations Details of South
Koreas Current Press Arbitration
System
The Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR), mediations meaning and essence,
which is closely related to the concept communication, and the Press Arbitration System of South Korea as an ADR system have
been reviewed briefly. What follows is the
detailed operations of the system and user
satisfaction data released by the Press Arbitration Commission. A careful examination
of the data will be used to see whether the
systems fundamental purpose is properly
served. The reason for actively utilizing the
commissions data is that experts in the field
have confirmed the interpretive validity of
the data and its potential as an approach for
coming up with policy alternatives.
Table 5 : South Koreas Mediation and Arbitration Usage Rate

Year
(Unit: Number of Cases)
Mediation
Number
of
applications
Arbitration
Outcome
settlement
Ex officio decision
Agreement
Objection
Total
Conciliation
failure
award
Rejec- Dismisstion
al
Relief
ratio
Claim
and
arbitration
decision
Withdrawal
2006
1,087
(100%)
356
(32%)
29
(3%)
28
(3%)
57
(6%)
226
(21%)
22
(2%)
13
(1%)
413
(38%)
60.6%
7
(100%)
2007
1,043
(100%)
359
(34%)
22
(2%)
32
(3%)
54
(5%)
194
(19%)
42
(4%)
6
(1%)
388
(37%)
64.8%
14
(100%)
2008
954
(100%)
402
(42%)
35
(4%)
17
(2%)
52
(6%)
125
(13%)
21
(2%)
4
(0.5%)
350
(37%)
72.9%
10
(100%)
*(Press Arbitration Commission, 2006, 2007, 2008) *Relief Ratio = Number of relief cases (settlement +
agreement + reports carrying corrected and contradictory reports) / number of applications
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
83
Research Articles
Table 6 : Mediation Applications by South Korean Media Type

Year
Applications
News- Weekly
paper paper
News
magazine
Broadcast
Cable
TV
Magazine
Newswire
Internet
Others
2006
1,087
598
125
29
192
24
25
17
77
2007
1,043
504
113
17
226
24
10
30
113
2008
954
424
130
162
27
12
33
157
*(Press Arbitration Commission, 2006, 2007, 2008)
The revised Act on Press Arbitration and

Remedies, etc. for Damage Caused by Press
Reports went into effect in 2005. Between
2006 and 2008, there were around 1,000 applications for arbitration each year, while the
agreement rate was 30-40 percent. In addition, the rate of ex officio arbitration, which
is stressed in the revised act, accounted
for just 5 percent of the total application
submissions. For half the ex officio decision cases, an objection was raised, suggesting that the parties tended to disagree.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the
conciliation failure award was also relatively
high. Particularly for the three years after
the introduction of the revised law, the rate
of withdrawal of application was higher or
at least not that low compared with that of
settlement. This result highlights that parties
involved did not depended greatly on the
institution to resolve the media-source conflicts. The rate of completed relief was not
high enough, and there was also a lingering
question about whether corrected and contradictory statements reported in the media
should be counted as a completed remedy
for the victim. In other words, even though
the media organizations carried contradictory or corrected statements for the claim84
ants, it is difficult to conclude that the parties

have truly resolved their conflicts, nor is it
possible to assume that a substantial remedy
or relief has been made for the victims of
misleading or false reports. Meanwhile, given
the data of applications for submission to
arbitration, the Press Arbitration System has
come to lose much of its original function.
An examination of the arbitration application data by media type in the three-year
period after the introduction of the new law
shows that the number of applications involving newspapers and magazines steadily
decreased, while that of applications involving wire services and Internet media continued to rise. This illustrates the rising number of disputes resulting from the explosive
growth of Internet media in South Korea.
4. Satisfaction Level of South Koreas
Current Press Arbitration System
The following is the analysis of satisfaction level of users in 2006, 2007 and 2008
-- the period after the new press arbitration
system was introduced. The data is based on
the survey results conducted by the Press
Arbitration Commission after it jointly
respondents (media). As far as 2008 figures

are concerned, claimants satisfaction level
was highest for wire news services (79.9)
and lowest for Internet media (75.2). The
respondents (media) were largely dissatisfied
with the system. Journalists in broadcast stations showed a lower satisfaction level (68.7)
than those in the Internet media (71.0).
Taken together, the revision for the Press
Arbitration System in connection with the
Internet media was very timely.
Of the five areas of the survey (the mediation procedure and method of claimants
and respondents, commissioners, waiting
rooms and deliberation rooms, mediation
results, consultation channels), the satisfaction levels of claimants and respondents
about mediation results are examined here
as the element in question is deemed significant to this study. The satisfaction level was
largely low for both claimants and respondents. The levels for the claimants was even
lower than that of the respondents, suggesting that the mediation system should be
improved.
researched the field in partnership with

National Information & Credit Evaluation,
surveying mediation and arbitration claimants, respondents and other users through
structured questionnaires via letters and
telephone calls. This study places particular
attention on the perception results of the
claimants and respondents among users.
In the survey results provided by the
Press Arbitration Commission, the overall
satisfaction level reflects five areas: the mediation procedure and method of claimants
(source) and respondents (media), commissioners, waiting rooms and deliberation rooms, mediation results, consultation
channels. As for the overall satisfaction level
about the arbitration and mediation system
of the Press Arbitration Commission, the
score for claimants (source) was 75.6 in
2008, little changed from 73.4 in 2006. The
figure for respondents (media) was 71.7 in
2008, edging up from 67.3 in 2006.
In the satisfaction level by media, except
for certain aspects, the figure for claimants
(source) was slightly higher than that of
Table 7 : Satisfaction Level of South Koreas Mediation Outcome
(Unit: %)
Category
Claimant (source) satisfaction level
Year
2006
2007
2008
2006
2007
2008
6.1
9.7
7.0
5.8
Excellent
Respondent (media) satisfaction level
Good
13.8
12.6
13.0
14.6
Normal
10.2
8.7
11.3
19.4
Bad
5.6
5.8
1.7
1.9
Worse
3.1
1.9
0.0
0.0
Do not
know/No
answer
61.2
61.3
67.0
58.2
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
66.0
67.4
71.5
68.2
75.3
71.6
Overall satisfaction level
*(Press Arbitration Commission, 2007, 2008: *2006 data does not mention the above details)
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
85
Research Articles
Table 8 : Satisfaction Level of South Koreas Mediation Outcome

Category
Year
Claimant (source) satisfaction level
(Unit: Point)
Respondent (media) satisfaction level
2006
2007
2008
2006
2007
2008
settlement
69.1
75.7
74.8
70.4
76.2
74.0
Conciliation
failure
award
44.5
52.3
51.4
66.2
68.6
69.7
Withdrawal
61.2
61.0
66.5
80.0
77.9
73.3
Ex officio
decision
74.5
72.0
68.8
59.6
69.8
71.3
Rejection
51.1
55.4
57.3
72.9
76.5
72.0
Dismissal
60.0
59.1
63.5
71.3
70.6
67.5
*(Press Arbitration Commission, 2006, 2007, 2008)
A closer look at the satisfaction levels

about mediation results reveals that the
combined rate of excellent and good
expressed by claimants (source) was 19.9
percent in 2007 and 22.3 percent in 2008.
The figure for respondents (media) was 20.0
percent in 2007 and 20.4 percent in 2008. In
other words, both sides were not satisfied
with mediation results. Even considering the
high rate of do not know/no answer, the
satisfaction levels about mediation results
were still in the lower end of expectations.
The rate of do not know/no answer about
mediation results was more than 60 percent,
which cannot be ignored. When interpreted
pessimistically, the figures hint at additional
users who are dissatisfied with the results.
Overall, the level of satisfaction with mediation results remained noticeably low.
When it comes to the level of satisfaction
with mediation results, claimants (source)
were less satisfied than respondents (media)
in most categories. The satisfaction level
of claimants on the decision for the failure
86
of agreement was about 50 percent, and

a bigger problem was that the claimants
were increasingly dissatisfied with the ex
officio decisions. The 2008 survey results
also show that respondents (media) put
their satisfaction level at plus-70 about the
rejection and dismissal of applications, etc.,
whereas claimants (source) put their score
at below 70. But there is no big difference
between the two groups as far as the overall
satisfaction levels are concerned, regardless
of the mediation results, which means the
decisions of the commission did not have
a decisive impact on the satisfaction of the
participants. Namely, the Press Arbitration
System was misunderstood as an institution
which makes a decision, with the mediation
function failing to play its fundamental role.
As elaborated above, the survey results
suggest that the overall satisfaction level
was not disappointingly low, but the scores
on mediation were not up to expectations.
Given that mediation takes up the bulk of
the cases in the Press Arbitration System,
it is necessary to take a closer look at the

problems of the mediation system.
5. Issues on Conflict Resolution and
Application of Mediation Principle:
The True meaning of Mediation and
Misunderstanding
As discussed in the previous chapters, the
original function of mediation is to allow a
third party to intervene and facilitate communication between parties so that they can
reach a consensus and restore relations by
expressing emotions and deepening mutual
understanding (Menkel-Meadow, 2007; Kovach, 2005). In particular, mediation should
be removed from the win-or-lose perspective in order to minimize the role of the
law; a proper understanding of mediation
is that it is a process in which conflicts are
resolved, not a part of the judicial paradigm
(Kovach, 2005). The fundamental significance of mediation, in other words, lies not
in the simple alternative to the legal system
but in a conflict resolution mechanism with
an emphasis placed on humanism.
In the South Korean situation, however,
the mediation system leans too much on
effectiveness of a faster and convenient dispute resolution, and does not reflect its supposed function. Mediation is supposed to
help resolve conflicts and improve relations
through mutual understanding between
media and source, but in Korean practice,
it is simply a short-cut to ending a dispute.
Namely, mediation has been mainly used as
virtually quick judicial system.
Kim Yung-wook (2008) also points out
that the current mediation system is not
playing its fundamental role in terms of

self-determination, confidentiality, mutual
understanding and other related components. In the same context, an examination
of the revised Press Arbitration System of
2005 shows that arbitration has been added
to the system, which was previously bolstered by mediation only (). In fact, this
kind of perception about the system reflects
the misunderstanding of the original meaning of mediation. Given the fundamental
role and meaning of mediation, there is little
factual grounds for regarding the Korean
implementation of the mediation system as
true mediation.
Previously, the Press Arbitration System
was called arbitration but it did not have
any legally binding effect, which means
there was no real arbitration at work. Therefore, the past system was not mediation but
a non-binding arbitration. The key issue was
whether the system was binding or not, not
whether it was arbitration or mediation. In
addition, the arbitration function was added
to the system, but not actively used by the
parties involved; in the current system, mediation is closer to a non-binding arbitration. In other words, in the case of South
Korea, it is fairly difficult to say that mediation is being used for its original purpose
and meaning.
More importantly, it has been assumed so
far that a quick arbitration or a third-party
decision is needed for the Press Arbitration System while ignoring the importance
of the true meaning of mediation. Other
scholarly discussions did not pay much attention to mediations fundamental role
resolving conflicts and recovering and imVolume. 4 2010 no.2
87
Research Articles
proving relations through dialogue much

less pointing out issues and problems that
should be fixed in consideration of mediations true function. Thus it is necessary to
introduce a system in which mediations true
function is used to facilitate communication
and resolve media-source conflicts as a part
of human relationship. To address mediasource conflicts through mediation, what is
needed is a new procedure that can broaden
the mutual understanding about such false
reports.
To identify how mediations true meaning is distorted, this study examines three
aspects: mediation procedures, details of
how the mediation system is used, and user
satisfaction.
When it comes to the procedural aspect
of the mediation system, what has to be
done first is to check how the underlying
principles -- mediators efforts not to seek
personal interest, perception of the mediators limitations, fairness, voluntariness,
confidentiality, harmlessness, self-determination, honesty -- are applied to the specific
processes of mediation, and how they are
explicitly laid out as internal rules. Unfortunately, in the South Korean situation, it is
difficult to find a clause or article that states
those principles.
In addition, the Korean mediation system
requires a formal document to request attendance, which is interpreted as mandatory.
The system also allows a party with a stake
in the conflict to attend a proceeding, which
is a bit removed from the principle of confidentiality. A proxy or representative is
also allowed to participate in the mediation
process, which is not in accordance with the
88
mediation principles, which favor dispute

resolution by the parties directly involved.
Another aspect to consider is the qualifications for arbitration commissioners.
As previously stated, judges, attorneys-atlaw, journalists who worked for more than
10 years in the field, and other people who
have much knowledge and experience in the
press can be appointed as the commissioners. Given that mediations original function is to nurture communications between
the parties involved and help them express
emotions and understand each other in a
way that improves relations, the current
qualifications for the commissioners are
focused on the judicial and media positions.
A new group of commissioners who can
understand the importance and function
of communication from the perspective of
sources is needed, and the related article
should be revised to that effect. This point
is directly related to the crucial issue of
training experts in dispute resolution and
mediation.
Another issue is the role of a third party
in the current system. Is it possible for
multiple mediators to pull off a successful
mediation? In particular, mediators in the
current the system listen to both sides in the
dispute and try to work out an agreement
actively, but this type of mediator is closer
to the model of evaluative mediators. In this
case, a third-party member in the process
tends to take the position of an evaluator,
and does not attempt to follow the principles of true mediation. An ideal third-party
member should be able to help the parties
communicate so that they can work out an
agreement on their own initiative.
Another problem is that the mediation

system functions as a judicial proceeding.
Under the current mediation system of
South Korea, if an objection is filed against
the mediation decision, the act is deemed as
a formal suit in the court. In addition, the
fact that victims are viewed as plaintiffs, and
media as defendants, shows that mediation
is deemed similar to the existing court ruling system. Furthermore, there is a question
about whether the parties involved agree on
the role of a third party and procedures in
the first place. Mediation should be viewed
as a separate system because it decides all
the processes through communications between the parties.
When it comes to the use of the mediation system, it should be noted that mediation still plays a big role even after revisions
were made to the Press Arbitration System.
Arbitration is greatly dependent on the decision of a third party; therefore, it reduces
the chance to build up mutually beneficial
relations and broaden the scope of understanding between media and source. It is no
wonder, then, that mediation is favored as
an approach to resolve media-source conflicts. But the problem is that South Koreas
mediation system is not working properly.
Aside from the doubt about whether the
fundamental meaning of mediation is reflected in the system, there are many problems with the current operations and practices that need to be fixed.
An analysis of the substantial settlement
ratio data, the settlement ratio was just 3040 percent each year, which means the rest
60 percent should have been handled by
something other than mediation. It is doubt-
ful whether there was enough mutual understanding and relationship-building between
media and source when the parities agreed
to issue a corrected and contradictory statement on the condition of a suit withdrawal
or settlement.
What is particularly troublesome is the
ex officio decision, a move that follows the
failure of settlement or there is ground for
the validity of arguments by the claimants.
The ex officio decision undermines the
fundamental meaning of mediation. In the
mediation process, ex officio decisions virtually mean a non-binding arbitration, while
violating the self-determination principle of
mediation. In other words, mediation is essentially a process through which the parties
involved try to work out a problem through
communication. If the decision, however,
is made by a third party, it is difficult to call
the process mediation.
Given the mediation application data, the
proportion of ex officio decisions in the
total submissions was about 5 percent each
year, and the Press Arbitration Commission
reflected the agreement cases in the total
relief ratio. But the higher proportion of ex
officio decisions in the relief and remedy
cases suggest that there is a problem with
the function of mediation. Namely, the figure means a lower chance of agreement and
settlement by the parties through recovered
relationships. Meanwhile, it should be noted
that the ratio of the conciliation failure
award was also relatively high.
Also notable is the fact that the ratio of
withdrawal was also high. The figure for
withdrawal in the total mediation cases
was about 30 percent each year, which was
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
89
Research Articles
similar to the rate of settlement. All of this

means that applicants for mediation did not
resolve the conflicts through the Press Arbitration System. This situation implies that
the parties are seeking to resolve conflicts
through not-so-satisfactory compromises
instead of tackling the dispute in earnest
through communication and mutual understanding. Mediation, first and foremost,
should be focused on helping the parties in
question resolve conflicts through and unrestricted communications.
Meanwhile, arbitration is not serving its
intended function. According to the Alternative Dispute Resolution system, arbitration should eventually play its role in the
process. But even though a true arbitration
was assumed to have been adopted following the revisions to the Press Arbitration
System, most of the cases involved mediation, almost none were arbitration cases.
The number of arbitration cases was 7 in
2006, 14 in 2007 and 10 in 2008. All of this
implies that there is no specific contract for
adopting arbitration between the parties
when a conflict arises between media and
source, and even if the claimants call for an
arbitration, mutual agreement is rarely made,
largely because the media organizations are
very passive about going for arbitration. In
addition, the advantage of the arbitration
system is insufficiently promoted and publicized, and it is also problematic that the parties are encouraged to agree on arbitration,
instead of being given a choice to choose
between mediation and arbitration. This
particular issue illustrates the need to set
up a situation where the parties are allowed
to make a decision. One possible option is
90
to let the media and source to meet at the

Press Arbitration Commission and then
make a decision between mediation and arbitration. Another option is that the parties
will be given mediation as the first option
and then arbitration on the assumption that
dialogue and communication should take
the center stage in the whole process.
Lastly, given the satisfaction level of users
in the mediation system, claimants (source)
were less satisfied than the respondents
(media), illustrating that the system should
be modified in order to increase the satisfaction level of the source. In addition, the
satisfaction about the mediation results (with
the full score set at 5 points), the figure for
both claimants (source) and respondents
(media) were less than 20 percent, a sign
that they are generally not satisfied with the
system. This also means that regardless of
which decision the Press Arbitration Commission makes, the level of satisfaction
among participants remains almost the same
compared with settlement.
CONCLUDING ARGUMENT
PROPOSING AN
ALTERNATIVE OPTION AS A
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
SYSTEM
In the United States, a growing number of
cases rely on the mediation system. This
development stems from the focus on promoting mutual communication between the
parties involved and resolving conflicts in
a voluntary fashion rather than resorting to
the authority of a third party. The reason
why this approach attracts attention is that a

true resolution of disputes is possible only
when the parties come to improve their relations through sincere efforts to understand
each other.
Among studies investigating the conflicts
between media and source, Kim Yungwook and Lim Yu-jin (2008) identified that
there is a gap in perceptions of false reports
between media and source in the Korean
situation. They point out a need to set up
a new policy to address this gap. However,
as previously discussed, mediation in the
Korean situation works as if it is arbitration,
particularly non-binding arbitration. The
distorted role mediation plays here is largely
because it does not incorporate mediations fundamental features, such as mutual
communication between the parties, selfdetermination, voluntary agreement and
enhanced understanding of each other. The
mediators role is saddled with problems.
As a third-party communication facilitator,
mediators should coordinate the arguments
from both sides in the conflict in a way that
leads to an settlement, but in Korea mediators are more like situation judges, whose
primary role is closer to arbitrators. In other
words, the Korean mediation system is
functioning as a quick and effective procedure, just like a legal proceeding, rather than
a system that aims to resolve fundamental
conflicts through communication.
What matters most in resolving conflicts
is how much effort the parties are willing to
put in to recover and maintain relationships
and how smoothly they manage to communicate with each other. Therefore, mediation
in the Korean system should be modified
in a way that ensures enough communication between media and source (Kim Yungwook, 2008). The following are proposals
based on the discussions illustrated above:
First, the most important thing is to strive
to identify whether the Korean Press Arbitration System is intend to improve the media environment or achieve legal purposes.
In fact, the Press Arbitration System should
exist for the resolution of conflicts between
media and source rather than the protection of freedom of speech or individual
rights. The reason is that for the freedom of
speech and other purposes, there are different, separate legal procedures.
Therefore, the Press Arbitration System
should shift from its current focus on a
judicial role toward a role of resolving the
conflicts between media and source through
mediation and arbitration in the short and
long term. It is impossible to resolve all
cases through mediation, which means there
should be two different approaches in terms
of policy. In other words, in consideration
of the short and long term impact, true
mediation should be used to resolve mediasource conflicts, reducing complaints and
narrowing the gap about false reports in a
way that builds up trust among the parties.
Mediation should be brought back to its
original position and the system should be
modified accordingly.
In the long term, the Press Arbitration
Commission should refrain from making
a judicial-type decision when it focuses on
mediation. In resolving conflicts, mediation
is likely to lose its original function when
the parties rely on the legal knowledge or
media-oriented third party decisions. In this
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
91
Research Articles
case, the procedure just turns into a swift

legal proceeding aimed at concluding the
dispute, which in turn makes it difficult to
resolve the conflict at a deeper level. The
Press Arbitration System, therefore, should
focus on helping the parties resolve the conflicts themselves through communications.
If not, the system does not have any ground
to replace or compensate the civil law. The
current Press Arbitration System functions
like a court procedure, with the emphasis
placed on speed and swiftness. What is urgently needed is a system in which the parties can reach an agreement on their own
through the Press Arbitration System.
Second, the Press Arbitration System
should focus on getting the media and
source to work out an settlement in order
to act as a complement to the court, not a
replacement for it. To that end, a communication-oriented approach should be adopted
as a key method for getting the media and
source to reach an agreement. In this context, mediations original function should
be stressed, and mediation should provide a
channel for active dialogue that reduces misunderstandings between media and sources
and enhances mutual understanding. At the
same time, actual discussions and consultation processes for resolving media-source
conflicts should be satisfactory. Namely, the
parties should be able to get their conflicts
fully resolved through the mediation system,
while securing a chance to understand each
other.
Third, the composition of the commissioners should be changed to accommodate
more members who understand and represent the sources.
92
The success of the mediation system depends largely on the utilization of a professional and knowledgeable third party. Third
party mediators, in other words, can play a
decisive role in resolving conflicts and advancing dialogue. But the current qualifications for the commissioners favor legal and
media professionals a clear imbalance in
the makeup.
Particularly worrisome is that the arbitral
chief requirement is set as an attorney-atlaw or judge. This requirement illustrates
the distorted view that the Press Arbitration System should be determined through
a depth of legal knowledge. In fact, those
who can understand the sources people
from the corporate circles, government and
civic organizations can help resolve the
conflicts. After all, the final decision hinges
on the parties themselves. Another option is
to allow the parties to select their preferred
mediators through a mediator pool system
within the Press Arbitration Commission.
In consideration of self-determination,
which is one of mediations key principles,
it is natural that the parties should be given
options to select their mediators.
Fourth, in the newly revised Act on Press
Arbitration and Remedies, etc. for Damage
Caused by Press Reports, mediation and
arbitration is now governed by the principle
of discretionary petition after administrative decision. However, mediation should
revolve around the principle of mandatory
petition because it must be based on mutual
communication between the parties. In other words, the original meaning of mediation
should be enhanced in order to open up
more chances for the parties to communi-
cate with each other and reduce the grounds

for misunderstanding, and thus improve
media-source relations.
The Press Arbitration System, all in all,
should be expanded from the twofold structure of mediation and arbitration to multiple options, namely, mediation, mediationarbitration, non-binding arbitration and
binding arbitration.
In addition, the current ex officio decision
system should not be applied unless the
parties go through a mediation process. The
ex officio decision is, in fact, a non-binding
arbitration; unless there is an agreement
among the parties, mediation should take
the center stage. In the process of improving and reforming the current system, mediation might take too much time without
producing a tangible result. In this case, mediation can be applied to specific cases that
are likely to be repeated or are saddled with
substantial and intractable conflicts, while
other cases can be handled by a mix of various options including mediation-arbitration,
non-binding arbitration and binding arbitration. For instance, a fundamental conflict
or a case that is projected to get repeated
might be better handled by a mediation
process. A routine conflict, meanwhile, gets
resolved through binding and non-binding
arbitration; a complex and ambiguous case
is handled by the combination of mediation
and arbitration.
In applying the above-mentioned recommendations to the system (Reference: Table
9), a separate decision committee within the
Press Arbitration Commission should be
set up to review submitted cases and decide
which dispute resolution method should be
taken. Such a committee could take its cue

from the U.S. courts Multidoor System.
The new committee can apply one specific
method or adopt different routes gradually.
The committees decision-making should
be based on a set of guidelines reflecting the
above-mentioned Alternative Dispute Resolution principles. To run the new system,
the Press Arbitration Commission should
overhaul the composition of its members.
Currently, the body is seriously understaffed
when it comes to commissioners who can
represent the source side, even though the
institutions key function is to handle mediasource conflicts. In addition, mediation
specialists are in short supply at the commission. In consideration of the shortage
of experts in mediation, the commission
should make efforts to train and recruit
more professionals in the field who fully understand the fundamental role of mediation
and know how to implement it properly.
The application of multidoor dispute
resolution methods is also related to the
adoption of the Dispute Systems Design
(DSD). Menkel-Meadow and his colleagues
argue that DSD can help manage and prevent conflicts effectively before the parties
bring the case to the court (Menkel-Meadow
et al., 2006), which is well illustrated in the
six principles of dispute resolution systems
(Ury et al., 1998). First, the focus should be
placed on the conflict of interests among
the parties. Second, in the procedure of
resolving conflicts, there should be a route
through which the parties can get back to
initial negotiations. In other words, even
when the parties fail to reach an agreement
in the initial round of negotiations and
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
93
Research Articles
move to the next round, there should be a

flexible route or course of action through
which they can get back to the first round.
Third, procedures should be designed in
a way that minimizes costs and maximizes
the problem-solving effect. Fourth, in all
dispute resolution cases, the parties should
be allowed to discuss the issue with experts
in advance, and continued care after the
completion of the procedure should be
taken for the participants. Fifth, the procedures should be structured in a way that
costs more, progressively, as the process
goes forward. Sixth, a system that handles
the motivations of participants and resolves
the problems facing organizations should be
strengthened.
In the Press Arbitration System, the procedure should go from mediation to arbitration to lawsuit, with the emphasis placed on
mediation. What is necessary is a gradual
adoption, and mediation here should play
its true function. The commission does not
have to put a limit on the number of meet-
ings between the parties for settlement. The

role of a third party should be defined more
precisely. Overall, sufficient time should be
allowed for media and source so that they
can work together to understand each other.
Table 9 is a new model that aims to resolve
the media-source conflicts more effectively,
summing up what has been discussed so
far. The new model is based on the establishment of a decision-procedure committee and the rearrangement of procedures
including mediation, mediation-arbitration,
non-binding and binding arbitration, to
restore their original function. Discussions
about decision procedures and operation
details can draw on the Dispute Systems
Design.
What is important is whether the current
Press Arbitration System fulfills its mission
in getting the media and source to resolve
their conflicts. If the system fails to resolve
the conflicts between media and source, and
enhance their mutual understanding, its effectiveness may well be in doubt.
Table 9 : New Model for Resolving Media-Source Conflicts

Damage from
reports by
broadcaster,
Decision
Procedure
Committee)
periodical,
news wire,
Internet
newspaper,
Internet
news
service
94
Request for
compensation
Request for a
correction
Request for a
contradictory
statement
Request for a
follow-up report
Negotiation
Media, etc
(source)
Mediation,
mediationarbitration,
nonbinding
arbitration,
binding
arbitration
Press
Arbitration
Commission
Civil lawsuit
Court
Request for an
Injunction
Court
Criminal Lawsuit
Police/Prosecution Court
In this study, the Alternative Dispute

Resolution system, particularly mediation,
has been reviewed and explored in terms of
its fundamental meaning and characteristics,
followed by an examination of South Koreas leading Alternative Dispute Resolution,
which is the Press Arbitration System, particularly the procedures and operations of
mediation. The countrys Press Arbitration
System started as a media control system of
the past military regime and then evolved
into a system that can handle media-source
disputes swiftly and effectively. But given
the original function of the system, media-
tion in the current Press Arbitration System

is not intended to resolve the fundamental
conflicts between media and source. Rather
it is focused on dealing with conflicts as
quickly as possible as an alternative to formal legal procedures. In addition, the survey
data of the participants shows that much
more efforts should be made to improve
their satisfaction with the system. It is time
to redefine the media-source relations by
adopting a press arbitration system that
aims to restore and improve relations, living
up to its original purpose.
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97
Reports
Comparison Analysis of
News Coverage Attitudes of Domestic
and Foreign Media toward the
Korean Economy
Ban Hyun
hban@incheon.ac.kr
Associate Professor, Department of Mass Communication, University of Incheon
INTRODUCTION
South Korea, which was hit hard by the

Asian financial crisis, needed an IMF bailout
in late 1997, after which the world gave a
gloomy outlook for the countrys economy.
The country paid off its debt to the IMF in
a short time, but fell back into the economic
turmoil because of the global economic
meltdown, sparked by the U.S. financial
crisis in late 2008. South Korea, along with
other countries including China, has shown
a robust economic recovery, growing at its
fastest pace ever despite the global economic turbulence. In this era of economic
uncertainty, the world economy has been
still-sluggish to recover, all of which clearly
show that we are in a metabolically interrelated world economy.
Nowadays the world is tied into a single
economic network and an economic crisis
has developed into a full-blown global crisis. Under such circumstances, mainstream
foreign newspapers, which dominate the
flow of global information, are of great

importance. Print media such as The New
York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial
Times, and The Economist disseminate global
economic trends and prospects to people at
home and around the world. News coverage
has also great influence on the worlds key
economists and, specifically, their decisionmaking processes. Particularly, in crisis conditions such as the 1997 IMF crisis and the
2008 global financial crisis, negative reports
filled by the foreign press have a detrimental
effect on a countrys economic prospects
sovereign credit rating and national image,
for example.
Traditionally, the economy of South Korea (hereafter Korea) has been heavily reliant on foreign trade and foreign investment.
The dependency has been even heavier
since the 1997 financial crisis. Because of
this, harmful or even malicious reports by
the foreign press brought the country into
a downward spiral across its economy. In
response, the Korean government has kept
This is an English translation of an article in Vol.54, No.5(October 2010) of Korean Journal of Journalism &
98
asking the corresponding news organizations to correct wrong information on their

own. Such a cycle is clearly shown in the
following excerpt of an article that appeared
in a Korean newspaper in late 1997, just
prior to the IMF management period:
The Korean government was angry at
the reports by the foreign press which
drove its countrys economy into a
crisis-level. As a consequence, under
the name of vice-minister, Ministry of
Finance and Economy sent counterevidence to Herald Tribune, The Wall Street
Journal, accusing them of distorting the
fact entirely, and gave a warning to the
Bloomberg news agency. It was because
exaggerated and malicious reporting
would bring about a decline in foreign
credit rating and foreign investors flight
from the risk, thus driving the country
into unviable economic collapse. The
ministry is even planning to ask the
court, if the trend continues. (Ministry of Finance and Economy, Strong
Reaction against Incorrect Reports by
the Foreign Press, Korean Economy
Newspaper, Sept. 10, 1997)
The point here is that the Korean government has repeated the same response to
the foreign press, even until recently. In late
2008, the world faced the global economic
crisis triggered by the U.S. subprime mortgage. Then, The Times, a daily newspaper
in England, released a news story titled
Black September. The rhetorical expression, reminiscent of Black Monday, was so
influential as to give the impression that the
country headed for an economic crisis, and

so the government and the Bank of Korea,
upset at the news story, strongly asked for a
correction. Furthermore, after talking with
the journalist who wrote the news story
(quoting a HSBC official), the central bank
confirmed that he never mentioned the horrible words. HSBC issued a press release
announcing that Korea was not in a terrible
economic crisis and emphasized that the
news reporting was entirely wrong (Park
Tae-hyun, 2009).
At this point, some might wonder why the
government is sensitive to negative reports.
The reasons can be explained as follows: (a)
a countrys credit rating is heavily dependent
on the reports by the foreign press (Chung
Dong-kyun, 2009); (b) it could leave a bad
impression on foreign firms and investors.
Previous works have also pointed out that
negative news coverage of the economy had
created bad images in the minds of investors and consumers. Overall, Korea has developed at a fast rate, compared with other
countries, and has been heavily reliant on
external forces during the process. So, the
Korean government and industry strongly
asked the foreign press to refrain from covering groundless news stories. In reality, no
country has been more negatively portrayed
than Korea over the issue of an economic
crisis by news media since 1997. But there
were, unfortunately, few post-evaluation
reports on economic conditions for the
judgment of the truth of the reports. According to the government, coverage of the
economic crisis should be criticized because
the news contents had such a direct influVolume. 4 2010 no.2
99
Reports
ence on Koreas stock and foreign exchange

markets. As such, it created deep mistrust
between foreign journalists and the Korean
government: The government expressed
unease at the negative reporting, while foreign journalists accused the Korean government for its uncooperative and unfriendly
attitudes to them.1
Unlike other news stories of social issues,
media reports on an economic crisis are
so influential on the market, particularly if
they distort the facts entirely, that there is
no way for its victimized country to restore
the losses caused by them (Kim Seong-hae,
2009). This is true because the foreign press
is regarded as as a trustworthy source as well
as an objective third party in Korea. In fact,
such wrong reports more often undermined
the credibility of South Korea than the
newspapers themselves (Kim Seong-hae,
2009).
Given this, this paper has explored how
news media (domestic and foreign newspapers) have depicted the Korean economy,
also asking which frames were used in news
coverage of economic crises. Next, news
articles of Korean economy were compared
and analyzed, based on the general consensus that the difference in news coverage
of the same issue would impact national
interests (Dickson, 1992). So, it may be a
natural consequence that the attitudes to
news coverage will be different, depending
on how different domestic and foreign news
organizations stances are in terms of their
interests.
Furthermore, this paper attempted to find
implications for the qualitative improvement
of financial journalism and the Korean gov100
ernments foreign policy, on the assumption

that even the objective foreign newspapers
have a tendency to depict a countrys economy only for their gain. Also, this paper attempts to answer the question of how Korean economy was depicted to global news
consumers using a comparison analysis. In
this sense, this paper would overcome the
shortcomings of previous studies which focused mostly on news coverage of domestic
economic issues only.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. Reports on the Economy and
Financial Journalism
News media, which distribute information

and images of human society, have great
influence on every aspect in our daily life,
including society, culture and politics. The
impacts of news media on economy have
been increased.
In general, journalists do not have enough
knowledge and experience to produce an
economic news story by themselves, so they
tend to rely on economists (their angles and
prospects for economy) to evaluate and
analyze current economic conditions. News
consumers also understand and evaluate
economic conditions, following the cited
experts advice and diagnosis (Mattew Eshbaugh-sofa, Peake, 2005; MacKuen et al.,
1992).
Most previous studies have examined the
impacts of economic news reports on the
real economy. Negative economic news reports were found to have a strong impact
on the public. For example, the number of

economic news reports increases when economic conditions get worse, and such negative reports can easily coax the public to
form negative opinions, even when the real
economic conditions are totally excluded in
the judgment process (Goidel & Langley,
1995). So, it has been strongly argued that
exaggerated news coverage of the economy
accelerates an economic crisis and dampened consumer confidence (Hester & Gibson, 2003; Lee Wan-soo, 2007).
Furthermore, the impacts of negative
economic news were found to be greater
on the future than on the present. Making it
worse, such negative effects have spread to
real economic indexes as well as the publics
personal perspectives about the economy.
(Lee Wan-soo, 2007). In particular, news
coverage of an economic crisis is seen to
have a key direct influence on a countrys
financial market, driving stock prices lower
and foreign exchange rates higher (Kim
Wha-yeon, 2009). All these studies clearly
manifest that economic news has an effect
on the economic structure of our society.
In modern society, the public are active economic agents, but they understand economic trends only through their personal daily
life, because they have little access to information about global economic conditions
or economic trends without news media. So,
they resort to news reports to understand
and evaluate economic conditions (Nadier,
Niemi, Fan & Amato, 1999; Sanders et al.,
1993; Mutz, 1992; Hetherington, 1996; Lee
Wan-soo, 2007).
Particularly noteworthy is the negative
bias in economic news. It has been pointed
out that such perspectives are passed on

to the audience directly. For instance, economic items in the evening news on Korea
Broadcasting System (KBS), Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) and Munwha Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) were found to
be 4% positive about economic conditions
and 37% unfavorable (Lee Ki-hyun & Lee
Dong-hoon, 2004). This tendency has become stronger since the global economic
crises. Kim Choon-shik (2009) analyzed
news stories on domestic newspapers in the
period from March to October in 2008 and
showed that 92% of news stories depicted
economic conditions negatively. Also in
Kim Duk-moos paper (1998), economic
crisis-related news stories that emphasized
an economic crisis (without concrete evidence) were found to affect consumers.
Based on this, he accused the government
of passing on fruitless policies, fraud, and
incapability to manage a crisis with respect
to consumers, and claimed that the government should bear the cost for the crisis,
rather than asking people to sacrifice for its
misdeeds. These findings support the idea
that news stories make an economic crisis
salient, almost leaving other issues out on
the printed pages.
Now take a look at an alternative approach. As mentioned above, most previous studies put an emphasis on the media
effects theory, in which negative reports
spread across a countrys economy and
bring negative effects to the public. Some
papers, however, argue that economic conditions have more influence on news coverage, based on the mirror theory (Wu et al.,
2002, 2004). According to the theory, it is
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
101
Reports
real economic conditions that impact news

coverage. Here, journalists frame economic
news from real economic indexes. As an
example, Behr & Iyengar (1985) analyzed
the effects of economic news about some
microeconomic issues energy, price, unemployment concluding that economic
news coverage was rather influenced by
economic conditions. Similar results are
have also been found by Korean scholars.
Lee Wan-soo (2007) showed that leading
economic indicators played a key role in the
tone of news stories and the amount of
news coverage. To prove the reverse effects,
he analyzed news stories from Dec., 1998
to Dec., 2005, using a long-term time-series
analysis. It was an interesting finding in that
he used a combined variety of variables
such as real economic indexes, the publics
perception of the economy, and news analysis.
2. Economy-Related News
Coverage and News Frame
As in other issues, news media or countries

may apply news frames that shape their
own attitudes and beliefs. In research into
media effects, framing is the most frequently
applied theory and approach. As such, framing is defined in numerous ways. In news
coverage of social events or episodes, news
media (the press) determine some salient
features and highlight what is at issue, to
deliver the attitudes of media or professional journalists to news consumers, thereby
making some salient and others ebbing
(Entman, 1993; Pan & Kosicki, 1991). Thus,
102
news stories are framed in different ways

in terms of news medias or countries attitudes to the events, and the framed news
reports have different effects on news consumers. It means that news stories do not
feature factual phenomena, but reveal a
newly structured reality.
Now let us look at Goffmans (1994) argument. He is the first to introduce the notion
of framing in the field of journalism. According to him, framing is a schemata of
interpretation to lead the audience to correctly recognize and understand the reality.
It is also defined as an interpretive underlying framework for individuals to arrange,
perceive, recognize, and name the real
construction of a social phenomenon. Here
framing is an inevitable organized process to
dominate human beings personal attitudes
toward episodes and events, as an invisible single unit. Giltin (1980) defined media
frames as persistent patterns of cognition,
interpretation and presentation of selection,
emphasis and exclusion, by which symbolhandlers routinely manipulate discourse,
whether visual or verbal. This argument is
in line with Entman (1992), which proposed
that news framing can reconstruct a perceived social reality, making it look positive
or negative by emphasizing or curtailing
events-specific attributes. Salience and selection, the two elements of framing, are used
to choose some aspects of a reality, so as
to promote a particular problem definition,
casual relations, moral evaluation, and treatment ways to make them more salient in a
communicating text.
As such, framing has been defined in various ways. But all the definitions have some-
thing in common: Framing gives the audience a direction of how readers perceive
and understand a news event (Park Kyungsook, 2002). Framing can be applied in
various fields. But this study used frames in
analyzing economic news coverage because
it is media journalists and economists who
make most economic evaluations. In reality,
it is hardly for the public to directly experience economics-related issues, and to judge
them (Lee Wan-soo, 2003). Thus, this paper
used cause, result, and solution frames,
giving a special attention to news coverage
of an economic crisis.
3. Inter-Country Comparison of
News Coverage
The studies on how foreign newspapers

cover a countrys domestic conditions are
very important in that news media evaluate socio-cultural or other domestic issues
as an objective third party. In this paper
domestic and foreign newspapers are included in the analysis of economics news
coverage, in that economics-related issues
are not restricted to a specific country, but
apply to the whole world. Here, what we
should know is that news media put a priority on their national interest, even though
they should be, in principle, objective. In
the inter-country analysis of news media,
the most dominant issues have been foreign
policies including wars, hunger, and trade
treaties (Diskson, 1992), but in modern
society, the economy takes center stage in
world issues. In this sense, it would be very
important to compare and analyze the simi-
larities and differences between foreign and

domestic newspapers in terms of attitudes
toward the Korean economy.
Hallin and Mancini (2004) supported an
inter-country comparison of news coverage,
saying that it would make a great contribution to the improvement for interpretation
of elaborated concept structures and theories. They also argued that this way would
hammer out more definite conceptual ideas
of media structures. If this holds true, the
media structure which is familiar only with a
specific society cannot be a norm. As mentioned in Blumler and Gurevitchs (1975)
work, such an inter-country comparison was
an inevitable process through which media
scholars explore various viewpoints beyond
country-bound perspectives.
As a case study, You Sae-kyung and
Kim Mi-ra (2002) analyzed and compared
the differences between mainstream daily
newspapers in Korea, the U.S.A, and China
in order to examine their attitudes toward
the 9.11 terrorist attacks. It was found that
more news articles appeared in The New
York Times (U.S.A.) and The Chosun Il-Bo
(South Korea), than in Remim Ribao (China).
Even Chinas newspaper covered the issue
in a short version. It posits a possibility of
the effects of ideological differences on
news reporting. The diplomatic relationship among the countries might also be the
reason. In Shims (2003) paper, news values
were measured by looking at the differences
between mainstream newspapers in Korea
and the U.S.A in news coverage of university-related issues, using content analysis. As
a result, it was found that the Korean newspapers released more negative news articles
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
103
Reports
than their counterparts where universities

were involved. The indicators of news
values such as objectivity, expertise, and investigativity showed statistically significant
differences, whereas others such as truth,
tension were not. Shim Jae-cheol (2003) explained that the different results came from
the differences in editing systems and news
reporting practices.
In a comparison analysis of news frames
used by newspapers in four Asian countries
and the U.S.A. for an IMF-related issue,
Kim Sung-tae (2004) found that the other
countries, except for Malaysia, selected a
news frame of neo-liberalism. The news
frame presupposed that new entrants of
any international organizations would experience times of hardship, but eventually
enjoy prosperity for a long time. Based on
the result, he mentioned that there were
neither diverse interpretations nor criticismoriented news frames in the other newspapers except for Malaysias. Another paper
analyzed the frames used in bioengineering
science-related news articles that appeared
in mainstream newpapers in Korea and the
U.S. (Kim Soo-jeong & Cho Eun-hee, 2005).
The paper suggested that the differences
in news frame structures were triggered by
socio-cultural structures, even though both
countries shared journalism practices. Now
let us look at Cha Je-young & Lee Youngnams (2006) comparison analysis of the
so-called Noguen-ri slaughter (it is named
after Nogeun-ri, an old Korean town where
innocent Korean people were killed during
the Korean war). They attempted to examine
how the slaughter was depicted in AP news
agency and Korean newspapers. To pursue
104
the aim, they analyzed all the news reports,

focusing on the usage of news sources. The
result was that the Korean news media relied
on the sources in favor of the victims, whereas the AP news agency almost equally used
the sources for victims and offenders. In
addition, the number of the sources was revealed to be fewer in the Korean newspapers
than that in the AP news agency, indicating
that the former failed to use diverse sources
and to identify properly the truth behind the
event, even though the Korean news media
covered the issue earlier than the AP.
Two papers on the North Korean nuclear
issue are good case studies, which attempted
to identify the causes of the differences
in news coverage on a country-by-country
basis, based on interviews with foreign journalists in Korea (Korea Press Foundation,
2000; Lee Beong-jong, 2007). The paper
Reporting and News Coverage of Korean
Peninsula Presented by the Foreign Press,
released by Korea Press Foundation, contained the interviews with foreign journalists
from four countries neighboring the peninsula America, China, Japan and Russia
and the interpretation about news coverage
of nuclear issues. The findings revealed that
different political and cultural backgrounds
had a huge influence on news framing, as
well as foreign journalists perception to
the issue. In a similar context, Lee Beongjong (2007) mentioned that in reporting
international issues and foreign policy, the
government coaxed news organizations to
report news stories meeting the objective of
national interest and thus the news media
followed the pattern of patriotic journalism (Cohen, 1963; Giltung & Ruge, 1965;
Bennett & Peletz, 1994). Also in the paper,

Lee (2007) analyzed the news frames used
in news stories and conducted interviews
with foreign journalists, based on the assumption that the foreign journalists would
pursue their own countries foreign policy
or ideology, as expected. Their assumption
was proved true: foreign journalists framed
news stories following their own countries
foreign policy.
Japanese newspapers, whose country
was absolutely opposite in stance to North
Korea used the most radical type of a containment frame. The U.S. newspapers came
next, followed by the U.K. and Russia, in the
continuum of the frame. China, the closest neighboring country to the recalcitrant
regime, used the least radical type of the
frame. It is also worthwhile to review the
attitudes toward an issue because attitudes
provide various angles and perspectives to
the same issue.
It is generally accepted that The New York
Times and The Washington Post are the two
mainstream U.S newspapers. But, based on
content analysis, Lee found that the former, a
progressive newspaper, used a more pro-engagement frame toward North Korea, where
the latter, a conservative newspaper, used an
anti-engagement frame to cover the reclusive regime. Also, remember that foreign
policy was one of the most influential factors
in the direction news coverage follows.
Objectivity is, in principle, a norm in
news coverage. But journalists values and
ideological hegemony are represented in
news stories. This explains why the same
news issues are differently covered. That
is, news storylines can differ, depending on
who wrote the articles, and on which media

released them. In this sense, we can assume
that news reports are not a direct window
to manifest a perceived social phenomenon,
but rather recreate a new structure of storylines because news values are determined
by journalists (or news organizations) and
news structures are newly created by national ideology (Tuchman, 1978; Gans, 1979;
Lichter et al., 1986). A similar result is found
in Kim Sung-hae and Kim Kyung-mos
(2010) paper. For the issue of East Asia
Regions and Regional Financial Cooperation, they examined news articles posted in
Korean, Japanese and Chinese newspapers
to investigate whether the related news stories deliver the facts only, or whether they
function as a governing controller of public
opinions. The result was somewhat surprising: the Korean newspapers proved more
problematic than the others. It leads us to
consider that newspapers need something
to achieve objectivity and readers should
understand international relationships to
properly understand news stories.
In sum, as shown above, most previous
studies focused on a specific episode in a
quite short time, restricting the scope of
research to only a few countries (e.g. the
comparison between U.S. newspapers and
ones in other countries). However, we are
in a world with a global economy. Diverse
relations exist among countries. We need to
overcome the shortcomings shown in previous studies. Within the limitations, it is almost impossible to figure out the long-term
trends and attitudes toward news coverage
on a country-by-country basis. Thus, this
study included the newspapers in the East
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
105
Reports
(e.g. China and Japan) and in the West (e.g.

the U.K.), in order to analyze more worldwide diverse and objective attributes of the
global economy and furthermore to explore
how the Korean economy has been depicted
in domestic and foreign newspapers.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study has dual aims: the differences
between domestic and foreign news media
were analyzed in the news coverage of Korean economy; the differences in news coverage were identified on a country-by-country basis. To pursue these aims, we analyzed
themes of news storylines, news sources,
economic crisis frames and attitudes and
prospects of the Korean economy. First, we
examined diverse themes of news stories
to find the most heavily covered theme, as
shown below.
RQ 1: How do foreign and domestic news
media differ in terms of the diversity
of themes in news coverage of the
Korean economy?
In economic news coverage, if a source
cited provides insight and perspective that is
the journalists own, the number of sources
raises reliability and completion rate. The
press should deliver truth to citizens and society, following the discipline of verification
(Kovach & Rosenstriel, 2001). In journalism
in particular, financial journalism only
trustable news sources (i.e. economists and
experts in the field) should be presented to
news consumers. That is, we can say that
106
news stories fulfill the discipline of verification only when news sources are properly
used for verifiable news reports. Here, the
number of news sources cited in each story
was examined.
media differ in the diversity of news
sources in news coverage of the Korean economy?
Themes of news storylines and news
sources are essential elements in terms
of reliability and the diversity of news reports. And these aspects can be verified on
the surface by means of content analysis.
However, they are not emotionally influencing factors. Moral impacts come from the
tone that news stories implicitly deliver to
news consumers. As mentioned above, for
journalists and newspapers, objectivity is
the highest value. But journalists personal
ideology, the political position of news organizations and the hegemony at a national
level are all influential factors in journalism
practices. Thus, we presume that attitudes
of news reports toward then-Korean economic conditions and economic prospects
for the future will differ between domestic
and foreign newspapers. This is our third
research question.
media differ in attitudes and prospects toward the Korean economy in
news reports?
Gamson & Lasch (1983) said that news
framing reconstructs a perceived cultural or
social phenomenon and even creates a new

culture if an issue is covered everywhere in
all news media. This is possible only when
news framing finds resonance with general
socio-culture as well as political culture.
Then, we can assume that an inter-country
comparison of news frames used in news
reports will show how the perception of
specific events or episodes will be different,
depending on political structures or sociocultural contexts. For this aim, we chose
the two eras of the 1997 IMF financial
crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis
and asked how specific frames were used in
news reports.
media differ in terms of economic
crisis frames (cause, effect and solution frames)?
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1. Data Collection and Sampling
The worldwide major media organizations

from the United States (The New York Times,
Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Washington Post), United Kingdom (Financial Times,
Reuters, The Economist), China (Renmin
Ribao, Zhens Juan ShiBao, Jie Fang Ribao),
Japan (Nikkei, Asahi, Sankei, Mainichi)
were selected for analysis. Economic news
articles were selected in the collection of
Korean-version translations of news stories
at Korean Culture and Information Service
under Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Those stories have been translated and
stored since 2003.2

For the analysis of domestic news stories,
economic news articles were chosen from
two sources: the website of The Chosunilbo
(a conservative newspaper) at www.chosun.
com and the website, www.kinds.or.kr, containing news stories that appeared in the
newspaper, The Hankyoreh (a progressive
one).
Then, three time frames were chosen.
Considering the IMF period was a critical
turning point in Korean history, we analyzed
the news articles that appeared during the 6
months prior to the IMF period (from Jan.
1, 1997-June 1, 1997) and during 6 months
after the IMF period (July 1, 2002- Dec.31,
2002), and for the last six years from 2003
to 2008 in order to examine how the Korean economy had been depicted in those
selected foreign and domestic newspapers.
Samples were taken using constructed
weeks sampling for content analysis, which
is one of the most typically used methods
in sampling. In case of foreign newspapers,
we chose 60 days per year and 5 days per
month. During the process, we designated
a specific day per week on a routine basis, except for weekends and holidays. For
example, we selected Monday for the first
week, Tuesday for the second week, and so
on. But, when a month has five weeks, we
randomly selected a day for the last week.
Finally, a total of 1,184 news articles were
selected.
In the collection of samples from domestic newspapers, we designated a data collection period at the two websites and typed
the key word, economics, and made titles and
contents represented on the sites. Then, we
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
107
Reports
narrowed the scope of themes to include

ones related with price, unemployment,
stock price, oil price, foreign exchange rate,
trade balance, Gross Domestic Product
(GDP), economic policy, and economic
outlook, because they are the most heavily
covered themes in news coverage of the
economy.
In this way, a total of 100 news articles
were sampled and analyzed per year. But 50
news articles were taken from the first six
months in 1997, and the another 50 were
from the last six months in 2002. Then, we
searched for more news articles related to
the above categories, because it would be
good to examine more news storied for accuracy and clarity. So, we selected 8 news articles per month, and also randomly chose 4
news stories per month in each news organization with the seemingly important news
stories of the day.
As a result, a total of 688 news articles were
compiled and there were 344 news stories in
The Chosunilbo and 344 in The Hankyoreh.
themes or areas. Considering this fact, we

classified themes into the following categories (a) overall economic indexes (current
balance, GNP, unemployment, economic
policy, consumer price index, etc), (b) finance/market (stock, foreign exchange, real
estate, bank, etc), (c) industry (IT, electronics, construction, automobile, tourism, agriculture and stock bleeding, etc), (d) firms
(coverage of firms including conglomerates
Samsung, Hyundae, and LG but the
CEOs, fraud, and feature news of firms
were entirely excluded), and (e) Others.
In analyzing the diversity of news sources,
we first coded the number of sources per
news story in the range of 1 to 4. Sources
are qualitatively categorized into the Korean government and government officials,
the Korean academic field and professors,
businessmen (including a business association), international organizations (e.g. IMF),
foreign governments, economic research institutes, credit rating agencies (e.g. Moodys),
domestic and foreign news organizations,
and citizens.
2. Classification
2) Attitudes toward News Coverage,

and Crisis News Frames
Attitudes toward news coverage of the
Korean economy were measured in five
categoriespositive, conditionally positive,
neutral, conditionally negative, and negative.
The judgment was based on key words and
news themes appeared in news headlines
and leads. For example, news articles linking
the arrest of an internet economic prophet
called Minerva to Korean economic credit
ratings were coded as negative in that the
theme and contents manifested negative
1) Themes of News Storylines and

Diversity of Sources
News stories about the Korean economy
were selected as samples from the domestic
and the foreign newspapers on a countryby-country basis. A codebook was constructed to measure a number of categories
related to themes and sources. We first conducted an analysis to measure the diversity
of themes. As we know, every section or
page in a newspapers has designated specific
108
aspects. Similarly, economic prospects for

Korea were also coded in terms of five categories positive, conditionally positive,
neutral, conditionally negative, and negative.
The Korean economy, which went up and
down during the global financial crisis was
coded in two frames: crisis and a non-crisis.
If a news storys frame is categorized as a
crisis one, it has to satisfy a set of guidelines. For this, coders read a storys headlines, leads, and contents in order and kept
an eye on economic crisis-related negative
words such as crisis, risk, tumble, uncertain,
gloomy and made an overall judgment for
each news story. Thus, a news story is classified as crisis news coverage only when it
meets this requirement.
As the last classification, the attributes of
a specific frame were measured. For this,
news reports were first classified into two
frames: a crisis cause frame and a crisis effect frame, depending on the attributes of
frames. After finishing a-priori analysis, we
assigned some attributes to each frame. A
crisis cause frame included government
policy failures, falls in consumer sentiment,
decline in business investment sentiment,
the deterioration of the global economic environment, whereas a non-crisis cause fame
included the slowdown in economic growth,
the uncertain financial market, the reduction
in foreign reserves, sluggish exports, and the
worsening of business profits and the fall in
national credit rating/the drop in national
brand image.
Inter-coder reliability was also measured,
based on random samples of 32 relevant
news stories released in the same period. A
Holstis coefficient of reliability was used to
calculate the agreement level between coders on a category-by category basis. It was
significant for all categories. With agreement levels at 91% on average in the range
of 85~98%, coders confirmed that the
agreement level was 95% for themes, 98%
for news formats, 90% for source numbers,
89% for attitudes to news coverage, 90%
for economic prospects, 60% for economic
crisis causes, 85% for economic crisis effects, 88% for economic crisis solutions,
respectively.
RESULTS
1. The Differences in Themes

of News Coverage of the
Korean Economy
With respect to foreign news coverage of

the Korean economy, we examined how
diverse news themes were. In all themes,
the overall economy was the most heavily
covered theme and accounted for a whopping 39.4% of the news stories. Finance and
market was second, filling 24.7%, and the
industry and firms was third.
News coverage of the overall economy
was exceptionally in domestic newspapers,
with 64.1%. News stories were largely in
two categories: one was about prospects
for economic growth rates. Some examples
are as follows: economic growth rate for
the next year will fall below a high range
of 1 percent (Hankyoreh, Dec. 25, 2008),
The Bank of Korea expects the potential economic growth rate to drop to a 4
percentage range/drop to 4.8 % for 2000Volume. 4 2010 no.2
109
Reports
2006 from 6.5 % in 1990s (The Chosunilbo,

Jan. 22, 2008). The other was about the
overall economy, as shown in the following
examples: The biggest increase of GDP in
4 years, Domestic demand-led growth rate
stays at 1%, but economic polarization widens (The Chosunilbo, Sept. 4, 2007). In the
meantime, the other themes got much less
attention.
With regard to the amount of news coverage of firms, compared with the foreign
newspapers, the Korean newspapers contained fewer news stories about them. Most
stories presented in the foreign newspapers
were about Korean conglomerates, shown
as follows: LG shows the way of conglomerates restructure, (Financial Times,
Feb. 1, 2002, Samsung Electronics starts
to lay off workers on a large-scale: Human
resources management is the real risk management (Nikkei, Feb. 29, 2007).
A plausible explanation is that the foreign
news media attempted to provide more information about the trends in Korean enterprises to their news consumers, since they
have potential investors in Korean firms.
But even in the foreign media, the Easts
media showed a sharp difference from the
Wests media. In the U.S. news media, the

most heavily covered theme was about the
overall economy, and firms came next, followed by finance and markets, and industry,
but in the British news media, finance and
markets was first, being followed by firms,
and industry.
On the other hand, in the Japanese news
media, the most frequently covered theme
was the overall economy, while all the others got much less attention, while the Chinese news media almost equally covered the
overall economy and finance and markets
(even though the percentages are pretty
low), leaving the other themes almost out
on the printed pages. Thus, both England
and the United States showed a similar pattern in news coverage, except that the U.S.
media released more news stories about
firms, while the British media covered the
theme of finance and markets more.
Compared to the Western media, the Eastern media represented by Japan and China,
was 20 percentage higher in news coverage
of overall economy. But, the theme of finance and markets was less covered in the
Japanese media was covered more heavily in
the Chinese media.
Table 1 : Diversity of Themes between Foreign and Domestic Newspapers
(n=1,869, %)
Overall economy
Finance and Markets
Industry
Firms
Others
FN
DN
465(39.4)
441(64.1)
291(24.7)
124(18.0)
135(11.4)
66(9.6)
241(20.4)
50(7.3)
48(4.1)
7(1.0)
Total
906(48.5)
415(22.3)
201(10.8)
291(15.6)
55(2.9)
* =126.882, df=4, p<.000 (FN: n=1180, DN: n=688)

* FN: Foreign Newspapers DN: Domestic Newspapers
110
Table 1.1 : Diversity of Themes Divided by Country

(n=1,180, %)
Overall Economy
Finance/Market
Industry
Firms
Others
U.S.
118(33.1)
87(24.4)
45(12.6)
100(28.0)
7(2.0)
U.K.
170(33.1)
148(28.8)
53(10.3)
104(20.3)
38(7.4)
Japan
131(57.5)
27(11.8)
35(15.4)
32(14.0)
3(1.3)
China
46(56.1)
29(35.4)
2(2.4)
5(6.1)
0(0.0)
* =117.368, df=16, p<.000 (U.S. n=357, U.K. n=513, Japan n=228, China n=82)3
In sum, the foreign media covered more
various themes in the section of economy,
than the Korean media, while the Korean
media gave much more weight to economic
indexes in economic news coverage, all of
which illustrate that the Eastern and Western media differ in terms of the diversity of
themes.
2. The Difference in the Diversity

of News Sources in Economic
News Coverage between Foreign
and Domestic Newspapers
Diverse sources increase a completion rate

and reliability of news articles. Overall, in
the foreign newspapers, the news articles
with only one source accounted for 32 %,
the percentages of two and three sources
per news story were 23.1%, and 19%, respectively. More than four sources were
used in 25.6 % of news articles, but almost
one in ten news articles had no source.
In the Korean newspapers, the news stories with only one source accounted for 50.1
percent, while the percentages of 2, 3 and 4
sources per news story were 23.2%, 11.4%,
and 13.3%, respectively. Thus, it can be

concluded that the foreign media used more
sources than domestic media.
But note that foreign journalists almost
have neither access to news sources, nor do
they have press conferences as frequently
as the Korean journalists do, while Korean
journalists can use various news sources in
news coverage of domestic issues.
Definitely, the latter has upper hand over
the former at least in news coverage of domestic issues. It may be possible when we
consider journalism practice and environment in Korea. However, Korean journalists
and news organizations should at least take
this finding seriously if they really consider
the future of journalism in Korea. News
organizations have to reflect deeply on this
issue.
Table 2.1 illustrates that the Western media cited more news sources than the Eastern media. To examine it, multiple questions
were given to the journalists. As a result, it
was revealed that the government and the
parliament were dominant sources. They
accounted for 50.3% (U.S.), 55.1% (U.K.),
59.3% (Japan), and 61.0 % (China) of all
news sources in the foreign newspapers.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
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Reports
Table 2 : Diversity of News Sources between Foreign and Domestic Newspapers

(n=1,763, %)
Number
4 and above
FN
DN
1(0.1)
51(7.4)
347(32.2)
334(48.5)
249(23.2)
150(21.8)
204(19.0)
68(9.9)
274(25.6)
85(12.4)
Total
52(2.9)
681(38.6)
399(22.6)
272(15.4)
359(20.3)
* =88.843, df=3, p<.000 (FN: n=1075, DN: n=688)

Table 2.1 : Diversity of News Sources Divided by Country
(n=1,763, %)
Number of
Sources
U.S.A.
More than 4
0(0.0)
92(26.5)
74(21.3)
59(17.0)
122(35.2)
England
1(0.2)
132(27.3)
118(24.4)
104(21.5)
129(26.6)
Japan
0(0.0)
85(50.9)
42(25.1)
19(11.4)
21(12.6)
China
0(0.0)
38(49.4)
15(19.5)
22(28.6)
2(2.6)
* =111.092, df=18, p<.000 (U.S. n=347, U.K. n=484, Japan n=167, China n=77)
3. The Difference in News Media

in Attitudes in Coverage of the
Korean Economy
As illustrated in Table 3, the overall attitudes to the Korean economy were neutral
(43.4%). But there was a clear difference
between the foreign and domestic media.
The former released more positive news
coverage in attitude than the latter, in which
the proportions of the categories including
conditionally negative or negative economic news coverage were unexpectedly
high with a combined percent of 49.8%.
112
The Korean government has focused on the

robust economic recovery, amid the economic recession around the world. As such,
the stabilization of economy was the most
heavily covered topic in Korean newspapers. It once led the Korean government to
accuse the foreign press of writing negative
news reports about Koreas economy. So,
this finding was surprising because the Korean newspapers were found to cover more
negative stories, against the governments
allegation. Note that the capital letter C
represents the words, conditional in the following tables.
Table 3 : Attitudes toward Korean Economy

Positive
C/Positive
Neutral
C/Negative
Negative
FN
DN
172(14.7)
69(10.1)
77(6.6)
41(6.0)
572(48.9)
234(34.2)
95(8.1)
73(10.7)
254(21.7)
268(39.1)
Total
241(13.0)
118(6.4)
806(43.4)
168(9.1)
522(28.2)
* =100.039, df=4, p<.000 (FN: n=1170, DN: n=685)

Table 3.1 : Attitudes toward Korean Economy Divided by Country
(n=1,170, %)

Positive
C/Positive
Neutral
C/Negative
Negative
U.S.
46(12.8)
19(5.3)
207(57.8)
27(7.5)
59(16.5)
U.K.
75(14.8)
40(7.9)
266(52.4)
49(9.6)
78(15.4)
Japan
40(18.0)
17(7.7)
65(29.3)
16(7.2)
84(37.8)
China
11(13.4)
1(1.2)
34(41.5)
3(3.7)
33(40.2)
* =91.595, df=12, p<.000 ( U.S.A n=358, England n=508, Japan n=222, China n=82)
As shown in Table 3.1, the Japanese and
the Chinese media showed negative attitudes to the issue, while the U.S. and U.K.
media covered the issue in a neutral way,
indicating that the Eastern media had more
unfavorable attitude to Korean economy
than Western media. This shows a shark
contrast from the Korean governments
claim that the news reports by the foreign
press were extremely unfavorable to Korea.
There might be several explanations for this.
But, we posit a possibility of geographical
characteristics.
Japan and China are our neighboring
countries. Because of this geographical
closeness, they have had more tensions,
conflicts, and other confrontational relation-
ships with the country than those in the

West. So, it might be possible that the geographical conditions affect news coverage
of the Korean economy.
4. The Difference between

Domestic and Foreign
Newspapers in Future Prospects
for the Korean Economy
Economic news prospects for the future are,

as we expected, also different between the
domestic and foreign newspapers. Neutrality was dominant in the foreign newspapers,
whereas the Korean newspapers had very
negative views on the Korean economy.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
113
Reports
Table 4 : Prospects for Korean Economic Future

Optimistic
C/Optimistic

Neutral
(n=1,305, %)
C/Pessimistic
Pessimistic
FN
DN
125(10.7)
13(9.3)
126(10.8)
17(12.1)
659(56.6)
15(10.7)
115(9.9)
24(17.1)
140(12.0)
71(50.7)
Total
138(10.5)
143(10.8)
674(51.8)
139(10.8)
211(16.1)
* =173.864, df=4, p<.000 (FN: n=1165, DN n=140)

Table 4.1 : Prospects for Korean Economy Divided by Country
Optimistic
C/Optimistic
Neutral
C/Pessimistic
(n=1,165, %)
Pessimistic
U.S. 34(9.5)
32(8.9)
220(61.5)
36(10.1)
36(10.1)
U.K. 39(7.8)
53(10.5)
317(63.0)
52(10.3)
42(8.3)
Japan 37(16.7)
29(13.1)
87(39.2)
21(9.5)
48(21.6)
China 15(18.3)
12(14.6)
35(42.7)
6(7.3)
14(17.1)
* =65.794, df=12, p<.000 (U.S.A n=358, England n=503, Japan n=222, China n=82)
A combined percentage of news stories
classified in two categories of conditionally negative and negative took up 67.8%,
which clearly represents that the Korean
media released stories that had a bleaker
outlook for future economy.
In case of foreign newspapers, however,
the other categoriespositive, conditionally
positive, conditionally negative, and negativeexcept for neutral, had almost the
same percentages.
The finding on a country-by-country basis can be summarized as follows: All three
countries were taking neutral positions for
the news outlook of the Korean economy,
except for Japan, whose newspapers leaned
toward a negative attitude.
Nevertheless, the Japanese and the Chinese news media had a tendency to be more
114
positive than the Korea media. Then, what

are the reasons? This might be a task Korean news media should resolve.
5. The Differences between

Domestic and Foreign
Newspapers in Regard to a
Korean Economic Crisis Frame
1) The Question on News Coverage

of a Korean Economic Crisis in
Foreign and Domestic Newspapers
The Korean government accused the
foreign press of undermining its national
image and economy by presenting incorrect
information announcing that Korea was
headed for an economic crisis.
Table 5 : Presence of crisis coverage between Domestic and Foreign Newspapers

(n=1,843, %)

Coverage of a Crisis
Coverage of a Non Crisis
FN
245(21.3)
909(78.7)
DN
268(39.1)
418(60.9)
Total
513(27.9)
1327(72.1)
* =67.848, df=1, p<.000, (FN n=1154, DN n=686)

Table 5.1 : Presence of crisis coverage Divided by Country
(n=1,154, %)
Coverage of a Crisis
Coverage of a Non-Crisis
U.S. 74(20.8)
281(79.2)
U.K. 105(21.0)
394(79.0)
Japan 56(25.6)
163(74.4)
China 10(12.3)
71(87.7)
* =10.016, df=4, p<.040, (U.S. n=355, U.K. n=499, Japan n=219, China n=81)
However, Table 4 told us a different story:
the Korean newspapers were found to release negative news coverage of an economic crisis much more than their counterparts.
Taking quantitative aspects only, the results
showed that the strong criticism of the
foreign press might be unnecessary or even
groundless.
In the foreign newspapers, the American
and British newspapers had a similar percentage, in the range of 20%, while the Chinese newspapers had the lowest percentage
with 12.3 percent. This raises the possibility
that China might worry about some side
effects from negative coverage of the Korean economy, because the trade between
China and Korea has been active since the
Korea-China amity treaty.

2) News Coverage of Causes of a
Korean Economic Crisis in
We analyzed the news frames used in economic crisis coverage, as shown in Table 6.
The table represents that the biggest cause
was the deterioration of global economic
conditions. It confirmed the claim that an
economic crisis might be inevitable for
Korea, which had heavy dependence on
exports and on foreign investment. Furthermore, the global economic slowdown would
hit the Korean economy, dragging down the
country to a deeper recession. On the other
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
115
Reports
hand, the Korean newspapers looked at the

governments policy failure as a primary
cause, except for the category of others, as
shown in Table 6.
It came second among causes in the foreign newspapers. Accusations of government policy failure included the lack of government leadership, flip-flopping economic
policies, and discriminatory foreign investment policies and investment barriers. The
category of others included such topics as
North Koreas nuclear weapons, tension be-
tween labor and management, political crisis,

the sluggish regional economy, strikes and
unemployment. Among them, the nuclear
issue was the biggest cause. Meanwhile, the
category of others in the foreign newspapers included such topics as strikes, conglomerates corruption, weakening in the
value of the Korean won, and trade deficits.
Among them, the biggest cause was strikes.
But note that 72 % of coverage of a Korean economic crisis did not identify a cause
clearly.
4
Table 6 : Cause Frame of the Crisis between Domestic and Foreign Newspapers
(n=574, %)
Lack of
Presidents
Leadership
3(0.9)FN
7(2.8)DN
Total10(1.7)
Government
Policy
Failures
Weakened
Economic
Sentiment
68(20.7)
58(23.6)
12(3.7)
28(11.4)
126(21.9)
40(6.8)
Decline in
Corporate
Investment
Deteriorated
Global
Economy
Others
9(2.7)
22(8.9)
119(36.0)
79(32.1)
117(36.0)
52(21.2)
31(5.8)
198(34.0)
169(21.7)
* =36.859, df=5, p<.000, (FN n=328, DN n=246)

Table 6.1 : Cause Frame of the Crisis Divided by Country
(n=328, %)
Lack of
Presidents
Leadership
Government
Policy
Failures
Weakened
Economic
Sentiment
Decline in
Corporate
Investment
Deteriorated
Global
Economy
the Others
U.S. 1(1.1)
10(11.4)
0(0.0)
2(2.3)
27(30.7)
48(54.5)
U.K. 2(1.1)
48(27.4)
8(4.6)
5(2.9)
56(32.0)
56(32.0)
Japan 0(0.0)
10(18.2)
3(5.5)
1(1.8)
33(60.0)
8(14.5)
China 0(0.0)
0(0.0)
1(10.0)
1(10.0)
3(30.0)
5(50.0)
* =45.059, df=15, p<.040, (U.S.A n=88, England n=175, Japan n=55, China n=10)
116
3) News Coverage of Effects of a

Korean Economic Crisis in
In the analysis of the effects triggered by
the above causes, both the domestic and the
foreign newspapers showed a similar pattern. The foreign newspapers gave priority
to the uncertainty in the financial markets,
sparked by an economic crisis.
The drop in the economic growth rate
came second, being following by others.
Similarly, uncertainty in financial markets
was recorded as a main effect in the domestic newspapers, being followed by the
drop in the economic growth rate, others,
and weakened corporate profits. However,
the issue of weakened trade was not heavily

covered in news coverage (11.3%). Even its
proportion was pretty low at 2% in the Korean newspapers.
For the causes for a Korean economic
crisis, the lack of the Korean Presidents
leadership took up 1.1% in the U.S. and
British newspapers, whereas it was nowhere
in Chinese and Japanese newspapers.
This can be explained in terms of a traditional factor shown in the East. But, there
was no doubt that the deterioration in global economy was the biggest culprit. In the
category of others, were included North
Koreas nuclear issues, strikes, conglomerates corruption, and bankruptcy.
Table 7 : Results Frame of the Crisis between Domestic and Foreign Newspaper
The Drop in
Economic Growth
Rate
64(28.5)FN
37(37.8)DN
Total 101(31.3)
(n=320, %)

Uncertain
Financial
Market
Weakened
Exports
The Fall in
Corporate
Profits
Undermined
National
Image
Others
72(32.6)
38(38.8)
25(11.3)
2(2.0)
15(6.8)
8(8.2)
10(4.5)
4(4.1)
36(16.3)
9(9.2)
110(34.5)
27(8.5)
23(7.2)
14(4.4)
45(14.1)
* =12.142, df=5, p<.033, (FN n=222, DN n=98)

Table 7.1: Results Frame of the Crisis Divided by Country
(n=222, %)
The Drop in
Economic Growth
Rate
Uncertain
Financial
Market
Weakened
Exports
The Fall in
Corporate
Profits
Undermined
National
Image
the Others
U.S.A23(31.5)
23(31.5)
7(9.6)
1(1.4)
5(6.8)
14(19.2)
England27(28.4)
29(30.5)
8(8.4)
7(7.4)
5(5.3)
19(20.0)
Japan7(15.2)
20(43.5)
9(19.6)
7(15.2)
0(0.0)
3(6.5)
0(0.0)
1(12.5)
0(0.0)
0(0.0)
0(0.0)
Chinese7(87.5)
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
117
Reports
As shown above, the drop in economic

growth rate was analyzed as the main effect by the crisis frame used in the Chinese
newspapers. In the U.S., newspapers focused
both on the drop in economic growth rate
and the uncertain financial markets as the
primary effects, with 31.5 %, whereas uncertain financial market was heavily covered
in the British and Japanese newspapers. In
the category of others was included such
topics as the decline in foreign investment,
weakened consumer sentiment, the increase
in household debt, tight job market, and unemployment rate hike.
4) News Coverage of Solution for a
Korean Economic Crisis in Domestic
and Foreign Newspapers
In the analysis of coverage of solutions

for a Korean economic crisis, a change in
government policy was identified as a primary solution in both the domestic and the
foreign newspapers. It took up 65% in the
foreign newspapers. The recovery of the
Presidents leadership came second, and
corporate investment third. In the Korean
newspapers, following a change in government policy, increasing corporate investment
and the recovery of the Presidents leadership came second and third. Others included such topics as the increase in exports,
foreign investment. In foreign newspapers
some opinions related with the increase in
exports were included in the category of
others.
Table 8 : Solution Frame of the Crisis between Domestic and Foreign Newspapers
(n=331, %)

Recovery of
Presidents
Leadership
Government
Policy
Changes
Recovery in
Consumer
Sentiment
Increase in
Corporate
Investment
Recovery of
Global
Economy
Others
13(5.8)FN
7(6.5)DN
145(65.0)
62(57.4)
5(2.2)
5(4.6)
13(5.8)
8(7.4)
7(3.1)
20(18.5)
40(17.9)
6(5.6)
Total2(1.7)
207(21.9)
10(6.8)
21(5.8)
27(34.0)
46(14.2)
* =29.723, df=5, p<.000, (FN n=223, DN n=108)

Table 8.1 : Solution Frame of the Crisis Divided by Country
(n=222, %)
Recovery of
Presidents
Leadership
Government Policy
Changes
Recovery in
Consumer
Sentiment
Increase in
Corporate
Investment
Recovery
of Global
Economy
Others
U.S.
2(3.1)
33(50.8)
0(0.0)
2(3.1)
6(9.2)
22(33.8)
U.K.
7(5.8)
84(70.0)
5(4.2)
10(8.3)
1(0.8)
13(10.8)
Japan
14(12.1)
23(69.7)
0(0.0)
1(3.0)
0(0.0)
5(15.2)
China
0(0.0)
5(100.0)
0(0.0)
0(0.0)
0(0.0)
0(0.0)
118
As shown above, the government policy

change was identified as the best solution in
all foreign countries.7 At a time of Korean
presidential election, the most frequently
covered issues in the foreign newspapers
were the economy and North Korea-related
issues. As such, since an economic issue
is closely related to foreign and corporate
investment, it is natural for the issue to get
much attention.
The combined results shown in Table 8
and Table 8.1 show some contrastive perspectives. The foreign newspapers seemed
to find the cause for an economic crisis
from external forces, considering that the
combined percent of deterioration of global economy and the Others amounted to
72.1%, but they recommended the governments policy change as a solution, which
is one of internal factors. This implies that
the Korean government should change its
conventional policy because Korea should
transform itself from export-oriented economic structure to the one increasing domestic demand in order to respond to the
external economic environment. The similar
pattern was also found in the Korean newspapers.
CONCLUSIONS AND
IMPLICATIONS

This paper analyzed news articles released
for a specific time period in the domestic
and foreign newspapers, in order to examine the overall attitudes toward the Korean
economy in news coverage, paying attention
to the Korean governments response to
foreign press that was unfavorable to Korea.

In particular, the selected news stories were
analyzed in terms of a variety of categories
such as themes, sources, attitudes, crisis
frames, and so on from 1997 (the era of
the IMF intervention) to 2008 (an era of a
global financial crisis).
With regard to the diversity of themes
of news storylines, it was found that in
the foreign press, the percentages of news
stories covering general economic conditions or indexes such as current balance,
GNP, unemployment rate, consumer price
index, were much higher than that of the
other categories including industries and
firms. There might be many explanations,
but one explanation is that South Korea
might be at issue only when any surprising
events or episodes happen. Why? One of
plausible reasons might be that for foreign
journalists, Korea is not powerful enough to
influence the global world economy. Then,
the entity of Korea itself might not be
evaluated high in news value. It was at the
times of the IMF crisis and the 2008 global
crisis that economic indexes of Korea were
also heavily covered. All these illustrate that
Korea-specific economic conditions and
finance-related issues had been covered at
the national level, not at the global level.
An unexpected finding was, however, that
the most heavily covered themes were
overall economic conditions in the Korean
newspapers, beating our expectation that
more microeconomics-related specific news
reports would appear in the domestic newspapers. Even the proportion of those kinds
of news articles was larger than that in the
foreign newspapers. It is a discouraging
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
119
Reports
result, taking it into consideration that Korean journalists have much more access to
news sources in their country than foreign
journalists. It indicates that they have more
chances to diversify themes. For that reason,
the most convincing explanation is most
likely to be related to journalists expertise.
Korean journalists spend most of their
time in doing miscellaneous work, including
writing news reports, reporting, interviews,
and visiting government offices. Under
the circumstances, it would be unlikely for
them to enhance their expertise. The other
themes, except for the overall economic
indexes, were covered in the domestic
newspapers approximately as diversely as in
foreign newspapers. It is closely related with
chronological change. In the period prior
to or after the IMF era, most news stories
were about financial markets. But later with
the Korea-U.S. FTA discussion progressing,
news coverage of industry and other related themes came to emerge on the printed
pages of newspapers. Some of this might
be owing to news framing, in that framing
makes some features salient. News framing can be represented in a variety of ways,
thus making the same issue look different,
as known. However we will not discuss this
issue in more detail in this paper because it
is beyond the scope of our research aims.
There was also a stark difference between
the domestic and the foreign newspapers in
the usage of news sources. Foreign journalists were found to cite more news sources in
news reports: the number of sources cited
per article in the foreign newspapers were
2-3 on average, while it was merely 1-2 in
the domestic newspapers. Foreign journal120
ists have disadvantages over Korean journalists who have free access to various sources
including national economy research centers, private research centers, businessmen,
and so on. They can even communicate
with some prestigious people who can help
them report news events. In the meantime,
foreign journalists have difficulty accessing
high-profile government officials (materials
of in-depth interviews with foreign journalists, Feb. 26, 2009). So, considering that the
foreign press has nevertheless had played a
key role in the dissemination of information
to the audience around the world, it is an urgent need to build a well-structured briefing
system. Of course, we need to pay attention to the fact that foreign journalists used
the best use of sources despite their poor
working environment. It gives a warning to
Korean news organizations and journalists:
The news organizations have to build better working environment where journalists
feel satisfaction with their work, while the
journalists must use various news sources to
deliver more objective angles and perspectives they own to the audience, in particular,
in reporting economic news events.
Now let us go back to the time when
Korea was depicted as a country which
was hard hit by the 2008 global economic
crisis. The crisis, sparked by the U.S. subprime mortgage, had driven the world into
a downward spiral. At that time, the Korean
government severely criticized the foreign
newspapers for their wrong and even malicious reports saying that Korea didnt hold
sufficient foreign reserves and the governments intervention in the foreign exchange
market was fruitless, driving foreign inves-
tors to flee from risk. However, it turned

out that the Korea news media were more
negative to their own country for the economic outlook than their foreign counterparts, and the foreign newspapers were even
neutral in their overall news position.8 A
plausible interpretation for the difference is
that news coverage of the world financial
turbulence touches a raw nerve for Koreans
who experienced one of the toughest moments through the 1997 economic crisis, as
in a Korean proverb saying that once bitten, twice shy. The government might feel
that even a small signal is as a precursor to
bleaker economy.
Such a tendency was shown in the number of news reports related to economic
issues. In the foreign newspaper, the negative economic news reports accounted for
20%, while they took 40% in the domestic
newspapers. Along with the attitude toward
news coverage, there were more news articles of negative tone with too aggressive
and radical expressions in the domestic
newspapers. Particularly, the two factors, the
deterioration in the world economy and the
governments policy failure, among several
causing factors in the crisis cause frame,
were identified to bring the country down
to a crisis. In the meanwhile, on the top of
these two variables, weakened consumer
sentiment was also discovered to be an important factor in the Korean newspapers.
This is possible because Korean journalists,
who can have a direct contact with consumers, feel appreciably the decline in domestic demand, the drop in consumption and
investment sentiment. Regarding the crisis
solution frame, the Korean newspapers
emphasized one additional feature, in addition to the government policy change. It

was the improvement in global economic
conditions.
In the above, we have briefly reviewed
the findings based on the analysis of news
coverage of a Korean economy appeared in
the newspapers from 1997 to 2008. Then,
what are the implications? The issue of how
to interpret the analysis results can be explained this way. First of all, let us consider
the Korean governments response to news
coverage filled by the mainstream foreign
newspapers. As mentioned earlier, there was
deep mistrust between the Korean government and the foreign press. To resolve such
a confrontational relation, a sort of communication center needs to be built where
journalists can exchange their opinions and
also communicate with the government officials, regardless of their nationality. In the
editorial An Urgent Need to Communicate with Foreign Journalists appeared on
March 4, 2009, The Maeil Business Newspaper, the Ministry of Finance and Planning
was depicted as an irresponsible ministry
in that it had not appointed a spokesman
for the foreign press even for one year. According to the editorial, the minister gave
an excuse for the vacant position by saying
that there wasnt an appropriate person for
the position available. In addition, the editorial emphasized that the government needs
to build a system where diplomacy-related
materials and documents were fully available
to journalists, stressing that the U.S. Foreign
Press Center (the U.S. Department of State)
and Chinas International Press Center (Department of Diplomacy) were in charge
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
121
Reports
of management of foreign journalists. On

the same day, the editorial in The Dong-A
Ilbo pointed out that the governments inefficient response to foreign journalists had
seen a hoard of foreign investors flee from
the domestic financial market. So, as shown
clearly in the above cases, the domestic
press expressed concerns over negative foreign news coverage, and at the same time
blamed the government for its passive response and flip-flopping policy with regard
to the foreign press. It also tells us that the
Korean government should build a wellorganized communication system to encourage foreign journalists to deliver correct
information about economic conditions to
news consumers worldwide.
Next, the domestic newspapers were discovered to release negative news coverage
more frequently than foreign newspapers.
Previous studies pointed out that the tone
of news coverage in the domestic newspapers was very negative (Lee Wan-soo, 2008)
and that financial crisis-related economic
conditions in Korea were depicted worse
than they were (Kim Choon-shik, 2009). It
is of course true that the worse economic
conditions get, the more negative news
coverage is toward a countrys economy.
However, what is the role of the press?
The primary role of the press is to observe
perceived social phenomena in correct and
accurate ways, and inform the public of the
right information. That is, fact-based and indepth news coverage should be a norm in
journalism practice. Furthermore, it is less
satisfactory to think that news media simply
deliver information to the public. The press
should be a true communicator, leading the
122
public to have confidence in their country,

lest foreign investors and people in the
country express concerns over economic
uncertainty. So, Korean news media should
consider their past, rather than blaming the
foreign press for any suspected misdoings,
taking it into consideration that there were
more negative news reports in the domestic
newspapers than in the foreign newspapers.
And as the first step, the Korean media
should build well-structured communication
system for the dissemination of accurate
and objective information about economic
conditions to the public. Korea news media should also make the best use of news
sources that have comprehensive knowledge
about economics and evaluate economic
conditions correctly. The IMF-period gave
Korean people an opportunity to create a
more mature economic structure. Similarly,
this global crisis can be a cornerstone for
the country to move into the rank of advanced countries. For this aim, Korea news
media and news journalists together rolled
up their sleeves to publicize economic realities to the audience around the world in
a network where true communication and
mutual trust are the bases.
There are some limitations in this study.
First, there were differences in the size of
samples. This study aimed to examine the
similarities and differences between foreign
and domestic newspapers.
During the analysis process, we realized
that the amount of news coverage of the
Korean economy was larger in the foreign
newspapers than in the domestic newspapers, also and more news articles about the
Korean economy were released in 2008 than
in previous years. So, it was unavoidable to

take more samples from the foreign newspapers, and from 2008. Second, this study
analyzed Korean economic conditions only,
without giving attention to global economic
conditions. This contradicts the general view
that a set of current economic conditions in
a country are part of the global economic
reality. Third, it would be more interesting
to set more accurate and detailed guidelines
in analyzing diversity between domestic and
foreign newspapers in terms of variables
including identification of news
Nevertheless, this study could be a step-
ping stone for a long-term analysis research,

in that it analyzed huge amount of news
reports released from 1997 to 2008 in domestic and foreign newspapers, given the
fact that most previous work is carried out
on a short-term basis. In this sense, this
study will offer insight into broader perspectives and perceptions in news coverage.
At the beginning, we mulled over the issue
of whether the political preferences of each
news organization would be better included
in this paper, but left them out. In a future
study, we hope to discuss more comprehensive issues including political leanings.
NOTE
1 In Feb. 2009, at the meeting with foreign journalists at the conference room in Korea
Press Foundation, most foreign journalists voiced unease, saying that the Korean government was somewhat closed and reluctant to talk with them.
2 To verify the contents in the Korean language versions of news stories, we compared
the translated Korean news articles with the original English news texts through Factiva
Database. Then, we found that more than 80% of content of the news reports were
identified in content with the original news texts. However, because news reports issued
in 1997 and around 2002 were not in the data collection stored in Korean Culture and
Information Service, we searched for Factiva and visited the homepages of corresponding newspaper organizations to add news articles necessary for our study.
3 Chinese news coverage was comparatively low, which should be seriously taken into
consideration in the interpretation of the analysis results.
4 Regarding the causes of a Korean economic crisis, the number of samples in news
coverage of a Korean economic crisis was small in foreign newspapers, because we
analyzed the news articles in the content which explicitly mentioned that Korea was in a
crisis.
5 Regarding the effect frame, the number of samples in news coverage of a Korean economic crisis was small in foreign newspapers, because we analyzed the news articles
which directly mentioned in the news content that Korea was in a crisis.
6 Regarding the economic crisis solution frame, the number of samples in news coverage
of a Korean economic crisis was small in foreign newspapers, because we analyzed the
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
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Reports
news articles whose contents explicitly mentioned that Korea was in a crisis.
7 All foreign newspapers proposed government policy changes as their primary solution,
but their detailed suggestions varied, depending on countries. However, since this paper
used a quantitative method, we coded the data with the category of government policy
changes only, ignoring such country-specific conditions. Thus, this might not be an
agreed consensus.
8 Looking into more specific results, the Eastern newspapers tended to contain more
negative news reports than their counterparts. But more study is needed to clarify this.
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Latest Key Issues

Surrounding North Korea
Chang Dong-woo odissy@gmail.com
Staff reporter, Unification/Diplomatic correspondent , Yonhap News Agency
1. North Koreas Nuclear Program
International talks on dismantling North

Koreas nuclear program, dating back to the
1990s, has undergone a tumultuous path,
with Pyongyang having conducted two nuclear tests in the long process that has often
frustrated the involved parties.
Since the last session of the six-party
nuclear talks in late 2008, and the countrys
subsequent atomic test in May 2009, Norths
bravado on its nuclear front doesnt appear
to have diminished. But the North, at the
same time, has shown signs of willingness
to return to the denuclearization talks.
The question is whether the parties, especially South Korea and the U.S., is willing
to accept, considering the Norths constant
track record of repealing its pledges to denuclearize in exchange of economic and diplomatic benefits, and Seoul and Washingtons
alleging of the North on the sinking of a
South Korean navy warship earlier this year.
Recently, the countrys leader Kim Jong-il
reiterated his commitment to resuming the
six-party talks and to achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during
128
his sudden visit to China in late August.

South Korea and the U.S. have rejected the
overtures from the North on resuming the
six-party talks, demanding that the North
first show a responsible attitude over the ship
sinking and prove through action that it is serious about abandoning its nuclear ambitions.
Seoul and Washington has also constantly
demanded that Pyongyang honors a sixparty denuclearization deal struck on Sept.
19, 2005, which calls for provision of massive economic aid, diplomatic recognition of
North Korea by Washington and Tokyo and
a peace treaty to replace the armistice.
North Korea, however, has since called
for the lifting of sanctions and the start of
talks for a peace treaty to replace the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War
before it returns to the nuclear talks that involve the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan
and Russia. Washington wants Pyongyang to
first come back to the nuclear talks before
discussing such issues.
Apparently reflecting the Norths intent
to move talks forward, Pyongyang recently
promoted three key diplomats who were
in charge of the six-party nuclear talks and
Panmunjeom
also negotiators with the United States.

The move conducted on Sept. 23 appeared
to improve Pyongyangs ties with Washington to resume the stalled six-nation talks and
to help stabilize the socialist regime ahead
of the anticipated power succession.The
countrys first vice foreign minister, Kang
Sok-ju, 71, was promoted as vice premier of
the Cabinet, according to the Norths official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim Kye-gwan, 67, a vice foreign minister
and the Norths chief nuclear negotiator,
succeeded Kang. As the former chief nuclear envoy for the North, Kang negotiated the
1994 Geneva Agreed Framework between
Pyongyang and Washington, which called
for freezing of North Koreas nuclear facilities in exchange for internationally financed
light-water reactors. Kang had been the vice
foreign minister for 24 years after being ap-
pointed to the post at the age of 47.

The Geneva framework has earned him
the honor of national hero, and confirmed
his position as part of Kim Jong-ils inner
circle. A former North Korean diplomat,
who fled to the South, said that Kang was
often invited to the leaders secret parties,
and delivered Kims special messages to the
foreign ministry.
Kang had been an influential figure in
nuclear negotiations and the Norths dealings with the U.S. behind the scenes, said
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University
of North Korean Studies in Seoul. His
promotion signals that Kang will be at the
forefront of North Korean foreign policies,
including its nuclear weapons.
Kim Kye-gwan, one of the vice foreign
ministers, was the chief North Korean representative to the six-nation nuclear talks
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
129
Reports
when the participants agreed to joint statements on Sept. 19, 2005. Again in February
and October 2007, joint statements were
produced where North Korea vowed to
drop its nuclear ambitions in exchange for
financial aid from the negotiating partners
and diplomatic recognition. Amid uncertainties that lie ahead in the denuclearzation
talks, Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. special
envoy on North Korea, said in early September that Washington looks forward to a
process of bilateral contacts and eventually
multilateral contacts that would hopefully
result in a resumption of the six-party process, but he added that there is much work
to do before such a process occurs.
The remark was similar to Chinas threestep proposal for resuming the stalled negotiations. That offer calls for the U.S. and
the North to hold bilateral talks before all
six-party members hold unofficial talks and
then reopen formal nuclear talks.
The U.S. State Department also said that
is Washington is willing to have a bilateral
dialogue with North Korea to discuss the
resumption of the six-party nuclear talks
only after the North shows a commitment
to denuclearize and refrain from further
provocations. Were not ruling out bilateral
or multilateral meetings in the future, State
Department spokesman Philip Crowley said
in September, noting the U.S. has had direct
talks with North Korea in the past when we
felt that they were useful.
2. Power Succession
For nearly the past two years, outside watch130
ers of the tightly-shut North Korea society have kept a close eye on signs, large or
small, hinting towards a possible succession
of power from current leader Kim Jong-il
after initial reports in late 2008 suggested of
a possible handing of the reigns to one of
his sons.
As widely anticipated, North Korea officially started a hereditary power succession
on Sept. 28 when its leader Kim his youngest son, Jong-un, a military general and its
ruling party gave him key political posts during the biggest convention of the Norths
ruling Workers Party of Korea (WPK) in
decades.
In the party conference held on Sept. 28,
North Korea appointed its leaders youngest
son as vice chairman of the Central Military
Commission of the WPK, the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in
reports monitored in Seoul.
The North Korean leader named his third
son, believed to be 28 years old, as a fourstar general a day before the party conference, confirming speculation that the heir
apparent has now started the process of
succeeding his ailing father. It was the first
time the sons name has been mentioned by
Pyongyangs state media.
As a vice chairman of the Central Militar y Commission, Kim Jong-un will
strengthen his grip on the military that operates 1.2 million troops and forms the basis
of the Kim dynastys power, said Yang
Moo-jin, an expert at the University of
North Korean Studies in Seoul.
But Kim Jong-un was not included among
the newly elected standing members of the
Political Bureau of the party, suggesting he
had some work ahead of him to complete

the succession plan.
In a reshuffle apparently aimed at assisting the power transfer, Kim Kyong-hui,
the 64-year-old sister of Kim Jong-il, also
became a member of the WPK Central
Committee. Her power-holding husband,
Jang Song-thaek, became a member of the
Central Military Commission.
Jang is already a vice chairman of the
National Defense Commission, whose decisions have overridden most of those of any
other organ in the country since Kim Jongil seized power.
Jang is also the Workers Partys director
of administration with responsibility for the
police, judiciary and other areas of internal
security - the second most powerful post
in the ruling party. Jang did not receive a
generals post apparently because he already
holds the powerful title of vice chairman of
the National Defense Commission.
Kim Jong-il also made his sister, who
oversees the Norths light industries, a fourstar general on Sept. 27 along with his third
son.
The North Korean leaders appointment
of his sister to such a post backed speculation over those who will serve as the young
Jong-uns guardians until he builds up
enough experience and power.
The promotion of Jong-uns aunt as general also demonstrates Kim Jong-ils wish to
protect his son within the military and the
party. The aunt and her husband, Jang Songthaek, are known to be supportive of Jongun as heir to the throne, and Kim seems
to be relying more on family as his health
wanes.
As Kims health was ailing following a

stroke in 2008, it appeared only natural for
him to begin considering his successor. Kim
was tapped as the successor to his father
and North Korea founder Kim Il-sung in
1974. He succeeded to the throne after Kim
Il-sung died in 1994.
Kim Jong-un, who is said to be no more
than 28 years old and was educated in Switzerland, resembles his father the most and
has always been the favorite among three
sons, according to Japanese chef Kenji Fujimoto who formerly served the Kims and
later told the outside world about their habits.
North Korea never officially mentioned
the name nor unveiled a recent adult portrait of its purported next leader.
Information of even a small part in the
process of building the political platform
for the heir apparent to become his successor is very rare at the moment. But in the
eyes of outside observers, the course of the
buildup was first noticed in late 2008.
Kim Jong-uns swift rise to power signaled
the start of what could be the communist
worlds first back-to-back father-to-son
power transfer.
After giving thoughts between Kim Jongun and Kim Jong-nam, an older son of the
North Korean leader, infamous for his trip
to Tokyo Disneyland on a forged passport,
Kim Jong-il in January of 2009 decided on
Jong-un to succeed him.
Since then, the heir apparent has often
been referred to not by his name, but as
Boss Kim among the North Korean
elites, becoming increasingly recognized as
the nations next leader.
While the existence of the heir apparent
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
131
Reports
had remained in obscurity until his debut at

the ruling partys conference in September,
he reportedly accompanied his father on
many field guidances while the Norths
regime also slowly built his achievement
legacies in legitimizing the succession.
Massive events, such as the 150 day
battle movement that began in May of
2009, the Labor Day event of that year and
a large firework showing in Pyongyang to
celebrate the 97th birthday of the Norths
late founder, Kim Il-sung, were by word of
mouth credited to Jong-un.
North Korea also allegedly fixed Jong-uns
official year of birth from 1983 to 1982 so
that the last digit of the number coincides
with that of his grandfathers year of birth,
1912. The year of birth for Kim Jong-il,
known to be born in 1941, was also allegedly changed to 1942 on documents.
Also since last year, North Korea has
apparently established a propaganda song
praising the states heir apparent as a regular
theme during public events.
Footsteps, reportedly written by top
composer Ri Jong-o, has been widely interpreted by North Korea watchers in Seoul
as extolling the valiance of Jong-un. Its title
began to appear in North Korean media in
February, when the KCNA reported that
soldiers in an army unit sang the song during Kim Jong-ils inspection visit there. The
song surfaced again during an April 26 ceremony marking the founding of the Norths
Korean Peoples Army.
The WPKs propaganda material since
July also began including the expression the
partys center, which was widely used when
Kim Jong-il was nominated to succeed his
132
father in 1974.
The Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper for the
WPK, stressed in a recent editorial assessing the results of the partys conference that
the nation should unite around the partys
center. Many news reports and propaganda
from the North lately shed light on the nations modernization of computer-related
infrastructures in production facilities,
frequently referred to as computer numerical controlled (CNC) technology, drawing
speculation that such achievements may be
credited to Kim Jong-un.
The issue of new leadership in North
Korea is also viewed to have significant influence over the socialist states ongoing nuclear ambitions and threats toward regional
powers including its rival South Korea.
The announcement of the six new generals in the late September military reshuffle
was also unique in that four are civilians
with no prior military experience. The other
two, aside from Kim Jong-un and Kim Kyong-hui, are Choe Ryong-hae, a former provincial party secretary from North Hwanghae Province, and Kim Kyong-ok, the firstvice director of the partys Organization
and Guidance Department.
This unprecedented appointment of civilians to top military posts, experts say, might
reflect an urgency to redistribute power in
state affairs within North Korea. But they
might also be political in nature.
It also reinforces North Koreas Songun
ideology, experts say, which gives top priority to the nations military, the Korean
Peoples Army. North Korea officially reconfirmed the Songun ideology in April of
last year by adding a separate article on it in
an amendment to its constitution.
3. Inter-Korean Relations
Since the incoming of the President Lee

Myung-bak administration in early 2008,
inter-Korean relations for the most part remained frayed, especially when compared to
the previous 10 years of rule by liberal bloc
that fostered warm ties with the North.
Lee, the first conservative South Korean
president in a decade, has taken a tougher
line toward engaging North Korea. The
liberal governments came under public criticism for making too many concessions to
the communist neighbor while receiving
little in return.
Seoul has pressed Pyongyang over its nuclear programs, human rights and the return
of more than 1,000 South Korean nationals kidnapped by the North since the 195053 Korean War, to which the North reacted
angrily.
Soon as Lees center-of-right administration took off in early 2008, the Norths media has issued series of provocative propaganda material aimed directly at the newlyfound government.
In late March of 2008, North Korea escalated tension on the Korean Peninsula by
expelling all South Korean government officials from the inter-Korean industrial complex in Kaesong, a North Korean border
town, and firing short-range missiles.
The North even threatened to sever interKorean ties and launch a preemptive strike
that wouldreduce South Korea to ashes,
accusing South Korean officials of making
provocative remarks toward the communist state.

In September of the same year, the North
further raised tensions by notifying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
that it would restart the Yongbyon nuclear
plan next week and removing IAEAs seals
and surveillances equipment at the plant.
In April of 2009, the two Koreas in a
tense mood held the first official dialogue
since the launch of the Lee government to
discuss on matters relating to the joint interKorean Kaesong complex in the North.
North Korea demanded South Korean
firms operating in the Northern complex
start paying land use fees from next year
instead of 2014 as previously agreed. The
communist nation also called for renegotiation of terms of the joint economic
venture, including wages for North Korean
workers at Kaesong.
Just a month later, on May 25, followed
a bombshell announcement, that North
Korea announced through its official media
that it carried out its second atomic test,
bringing inter-Korean relations again to an
abrupt halt. The country conducted its first
nuclear test in October 2006.
The South Korean government then immediately denounced the Norths latest nuclear test as a serious threat and challenge
to the international community.
Earlier this year, the biggest obstacle in
the two Koreas relation emerged, when the
Cheonan, a South Korean navy warship, was
torpedoed down in March by what Seoul,
citing a probe by a multinational team of
investigators, concluded was by an attack by
the North.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
133
Reports
North Korea, which denies any role in the

sinking of the Cheonan, threatened an allout war if it is punished for the tragedy,
which claimed 46 lives. The impoverished
country also reportedly putting its 1.2 million troops on combat alert then.
In the aftermath of the Cheonan sinking, the U.S. reinforced sanctions on North
Korea, released a list of several more North
Korean entities and individuals involved in
weapons of mass destruction and other activities banned by the United Nations. The
list includes Office 39 of the Norths ruling
Workers Party, which is believed to manage
slush funds for leader Kim Jong-il.
South Korea, however, recently has shifted somewhat its stance in a more positive
134
light, with President Lee proposing use of

taxpayers money earmarked for projects to
improve relations with the North.
South Koreas Red Cross was also set to
ship of 5,000 tons of rice and other aid materials next month to North Korea that was
severely battered by torrential rains in the
summer.
Also more recently, the two Koreas agreed
to hold new rounds of reunion events for
the families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. The North has also insisted on
holding talks on resuming a South Koreanrun tour program to the North, that is currently suspended after a Southern tourist
was shot dead by a North Korean solider
two years ago.
Korea-EU Journalist Seminar
Jung Eun-joo ejung@hani.co.kr

business reporter at The Hankyoreh
Eleven Korean and EU reporters held the

Korea-EU Journalist Seminar at KAL
Hotel on Jeju Island on September 3, 2010,
sharing their experiences involving Korea
and the EU. Roh Sung-hwan, director of
the industry promotion division of the Korea Press Foundation said in his opening
remark, It has been three years since we
started Korea-EU media exchanges, and we
hope they can share their experience and
expertise so that they can broaden their perspectives as journalists.
In the first session titled Europe experienced by Korean reporters, Lee Tae-hoon,
a reporter of Chosunilbo, said, The key
words that I used for understanding Europe
was difference, indifference and introversion.
I added, I got a glimpse into the future
of a world where various cultures and languages intermingled.
In the second session titled Korea experienced by European reporters, Sven Hansen, a German reporter who visited Korea
for the fourth time, said, I confirmed that
Korea is still passionate and ambitious. But
compared with my visit 12 years ago, I no-
ticed the influence of civic organizations

and the pride about democratization have
been diminished.
Marius Laurinavicius of Lietuvos Rytas,
who visited Korea for the first time, said,
Korea is more liberal and freer than Japan.
Fabrizio Maronta, a reporter from Italy,
said, The construction boom here reminded me of Italy in the 1950s and 60s.
In the last session titled How Korean and
EU media look at each other, Dong-A Ilbo
reporter Song Pyung-in and Swedish journalist Gordana Malesevic presented their
views. Song said, Korean people pay less
attention to Europe compared with their
stronger interest in the United States, China
and Japan.
The decision-making in EU is very complex and not so pertinent for the Korean
audience, so its difficult to file a detailed
report about it, he pointed out.
Malesevic said, North Korea is a news
item, but South Korea rarely draws attention from the European media. The coverage about Korea is mainly concerned with
the North Korean issue or the economy.
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
135
Reports
[ Seminar participants ]
From Europe
Lillia Goleminova
senior editor of Radio Sofia in Bulgaria
Sven Hansen
Asia-Pacific desk editor of Tageszeitung in Germany
Gabor Toth
international news editor of HirTV in Hungary
Fabrizio Maronta
English-edition editor of Limes in Italy
Marius Laurinavicius
international editor of Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania
Gordana Malesevic
freelance journalist based in Sweden
Maria-laura Franciosi
consultant of the European Journalism Centre
Maria Manta
an employee of the Europe Journalism Centre
From Korea
Song Pyung-in
deputy editor of the world news team at the Dong-A Ilbo
Jung Eun-joo
business reporter at the Hankyoreh
Lee Tae-hoon
world news reporter at the Chosunilbo
Roh Sung-hwan
director of industry promotion division at the Korea Press Foundation
Kim Ji-hyuk
manager of the industry support team at the Korea Press Foundation
Park Soo-kyung
employee of the industry support team at the Korea Press Foundation
Korea experienced
by European reporters
Marius Laurinavicius : I got an impression that South Korea is much more liberal and far freer than Japan. Four years
ago, when I visited Japan, I wasnt able to
gauge the society by talking with Japanese
people. After an official program was
ended, I asked around for personal opinions, only to receive stock answers. At the
time, I assumed that Japans exclusive and
closed attitude was part of Asian features,
but Korean society was totally different,
and thats surprising.
136
Fabrizio Maronta : In Korea, I was reminded of Italys industrialization in the

1950s and 60s. At that time, construction
projects were everywhere in Italy, an attempt to pull out of poverty, and people
talked about the future, vision and dream.
Because of that, we lost some of our heritage and traditional culture, though. One
college student here said Europe is a
great, cultural place, but nothing happens
there, its too quiet, and his comment left
me with a strong impression.
Maria Manta : For three years, I have
worked with some Korean reporters, but
I didnt have a chance to get to know

Korea. The only thing I got was the typical prejudice, for instance Koreans eating
dog meat. But on my visit to Korea, I discovered delicious, not-so-heavy, healthy
food culture. In arts and culture, Korea
is different from China and Japan, which
is a big surprise for me. The country is
catching up with advanced nations in economic and industrial sectors, and it seems
like Korea has overtaken some European
nations, including Greece.
Maria-laura Franciosi : The biggest appeal
of Korea is Koreans. The success here is
achieved by Koreans. I felt the same thing
when I visited Korea last year, and that is,
Koreans have internalized the respect for
others. Korea and Italy share the common
ground, and, especially Korea is very similar to the southern region of Italy where
I grew up in my childhood. Some people
call Korea Naples of Asia and I totally
agree. And Naples is famous for its kind
people.
Sven Hansen : This is my fourth visit to
Korea. I noticed more big cars on the
street and more people carrying smart
phones, and I cannot imagine this kind of
rapid change in Europe. Unlike the past, I
got an impression that Korea is stressing its
traditional culture. It was good to visit museums and learn about Koreas traditional
culture, but I wish I had more chances to
experience Koreas modern culture. Korea
has made great progress economically and
politically. When I visited the last time, it
was a different administration, and they
showed me the process of Koreas democratization. But this time nobody talked
about it at all. In particular, I really wanted
to listen to the views of Korean farmers
concerning the Korea-EU FTA, but there
was no opportunity to do so.
Gordana Malesevic : My impression was
that Korea is putting emphasis on its
economic and material wealth. I got worried about the possibility that this nation
might have lost the grip on the importance of humanity in the name of pursuing efficiency to the extreme. This might
be the first step toward democracy, but we
cannot give up on other things in order
to seek economic wealth. About 20 or 25
years ago, economic wealth was the most
important thing in Sweden, but things are
different now.
Gabor Toth : Korea is often described as a
small country, but given that its population is close to 50 million and GDP is
about 20,000 U.S. dollars, the countrys
influence cannot be ignored. Geographically, it is surrounded by bigger nations
such as China, Japan and Russia, but it is
better positioned than any other European countries.
Lillia Goleminova : Although I was in
my sixth month of pregnancy, I applied
for the Korean program. As this is my
first trip to Asia, I feel Korea is now a
gateway to Asia. I expected some kind
of cultural shock, but I was surprised because there was none. The distance is far
away, but there is more common ground
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
137
Reports
than differences. When I visited KBS, I

was surprised to know that it cannot air
a Japanese movie because its a state-run
television station. I did not think Korea
was a tourist destination, but I changed
my mind after I came to know the beautiful nature of Korea.
Kim Ji-hyuk : You have visited various cities such as Seoul, Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongju,
Jeju, and what differences did you notice
among the cities?
Maronta : We spent most of the time in
Seoul and just got a quick glimpse of other cities, so its difficult to compare them.
At least, they are certainly different from
other European cities, and what cannot be found in Italy is Koreas housing
blocks (apartments). Im not sure whether
this is due to the expensive rent or some
practical reasons, but its clearly different
from Europe. Gyeongju, however, was an
exception.
Kim Ji-hyuk : You visited JoongAng Ilbo
and KBS. In what way do they differ from
European media?
Malesevic : Swedish media also rehash foreign newspapers and broadcast news by
quoting them, but we do not regard such
behavior as true journalism. However, I
got an impression that KBS is proud of
its content exchange partnership with foreign broadcasters. KBS calls it exchange,
but in reality its just a re-broadcast of
video and news produced by foreign
broadcast stations.
138
Europe experienced
by Korean reporters
Jung Eun-joo : Korea is not an island, but

actually its an island. The reason is that
nobody can visit another country unless
she uses an airplane. Therefore, it was a
refreshing experience to get a quick lunch
in Paris, France, enjoy an evening in The
Hague, the Netherlands, and spend the
night in Brussels, Belgium. Also it was
impressive that people from different
countries and cultures work together, using different various languages.
When traveling on trains in Europe, there
were several occasions in which the trains
suddenly stopped. Whats surprising,
though, was the reaction from Europeans
on board the trains. If the same thing
happens in Korea and people are asked to
get off the train and use the bus to their
destination, Koreans will definitely protest strongly. But Europeans peacefully, or
rather willingly, hopped on the bus as if
its a special experience.
Lee Tae-hoon : The first key word for
understanding Europe was difference.
I interviewed a chief executive officer at
the European Climate Exchange in Britain, and his primary concern was how to
control the emission volume of carbon
to zero by trading off oxygen emission
rights. On another story assignment, I
visited Passivhaus (Passive House: a
building in which a comfortable interior
climate can be maintained without active
heating and cooling systems) in Frankfurt, Germany, in which heating energy is
saved by as much as 85 percent. If you

install a solar energy system on the roof,
you could reduce the remaining consumption of energy, thereby pulling off a zero
use of carbon,
I said. But the German man I talked to
said, Thats a British approach. He said
whats important is actually reducing the
consumption of energy, not controlling
the volume to zero, which is meaningless.
I used to believe that Europe can be categorized as a single region, but I realized
then that Europe is very complex as there
are differences from country to country,
region to region.
The second key word is indifference. I
did a story on the low carbon planning
district in the Netherlands, and people
there rarely talk, so the city government
is now setting up bird nests on the walls
in the neighborhood. If theres a bird, the
logic goes, neighbors will have to talk to
each other.
Another thing I noticed is that Europeans are increasingly turning introverted. I
interviewed an official in charge of EUs
energy projects, and he said Europe is
already behind Korea and China in the
fields where it used to hold a competitive
edge 20-30 years ago, and hes worried
that other countries like Indonesia and
Cambodia might overtake Europe in the
near future.
I felt Europeans are losing confidence as
Europes competitiveness declines. And
I believe Frances eviction of Gypsies
and Switzerlands policy banning the construction of an iconic mosque tower are
related to Europes confidence problem.
Hansen : I think Korean and EU reporters

should work together and report more
about common issues such as low birthrate, which is a serious problem now in
Korea, Japan, Italy, but a problem that is
being handled well in Sweden and France.
Jung Eun-joo : As for the low birthrate
problem, the Korean government and experts alike take France as a model to emulate and consider Frances success story as
a reference for setting up new polices, but
after I actually did a story on this issue,
covering the countries including France,
Germany, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, I concluded that theres no easy fix. European
nations went through the same problem
facing Korea and implemented a consistent policy for 30-50 years, whose result
is now coming in the form of a recovery
in birthrate. One policy is not enough for
tackling the issue. The problem is getting
more and more difficult because people
approach the low birthrate by setting
France or Sweden as Koreas correct
model to follow.
Maronta : The critical opinion about Europeans, I think, is incisive and on the mark,
but I wonder whether there is some positive aspects that Korea can adopt.
Lee Tae-hoon : I found voluntary participation of citizens very impressive. When
I visited Lolland Island, I found one local
company doing a business related to the
development of hydrogen fuel cells. It
was still in its testing period, so there was
a concern about safety, but at a public
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
139
Reports
forum citizens revealed they installed the

hydrogen fuel cells in their houses and
some even went so far as to install them
on their bodies. They were quick to absorb new, cutting-edge technologies, and
such adoption was implemented voluntarily.
How Korean and EU media look

at each other
Song Pyung-in : Koreas interest in Europe

is relatively weaker compared with other
countries like the United States, China
and Japan. The number of correspondents is telling. When it comes to Dong-A
Ilbo, three correspondents are stationed
in the United States, two in Japan and two
in China, but only one in Europe. The
situation is similar at the Chosunilbo and
JoongAng Ilbo. Some newspapers do not
station their reporters in Europe at all.
All of this means that there is no pressing
agenda between Europe and South Korea.
I will talk about the reports I filed when I
was a correspondent in Paris, France, for
three years from July 2007 through July
2010. In the late 19th century, the French
troops raided the Joseon Kingdoms royal
library and stole the Kyujanggak documents, which are now stored in the National Library of France. Korea demanded the return of the royal texts, while the
French library refuses to give them back
on principle. But former French President
Francois Mitterrand promised to return
the royal documents when the country
140
was trying to sell its TGV bullet trains to

Korea. But when the TGV contract was
signed, France did not make good on its
promise. France argues his promise is a
verbal agreement only, and there is no
formal document that requires an action
at a governmental level. Koreans, in view
of the developments surrounding the
broken promise, think that Frances actions are disgraceful.
In 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy was elected
president in France, Even though theyre
in the same right-wing group, Sarkozy is
closer to the right compared with Jacques
Chirac. In 2006, CDU-SPD collation was
changed into CDU-FDP in Germany. In
Britain, the coalition between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democratic
Party drove out the Labor Party, snapping
its 13-year rule. It is quite rare that the
right-wing administrations were launched
in three major European countries almost
simultaneously. The Korean media tend
to justify their editorial views by reporting
the ups and downs in European politics.
Therefore, which administration controls
the power in Europe is always a fixation
for the Korean media.
Korean newspapers place one correspondent each in Europe and all of them are
stationed in Paris. Why is it that they are
based in Paris, even though its not a place
where they can communicate in English?
One reason is that Paris is located at the
heart of Europe, a strategic location between London and Berlin. But I have a
different opinion about this. France is a
country whose government structure is
shaped by its presidents. Korea has the
same president-oriented government system. Presidents in both countries exercise

enormous influence in making political
decisions. As a result, the media coverage of such political decisions is very
similar in both countries. Koreans are not
familiar with British and German political systems in which the parliaments take
the center stage. I think this is why I feel
more comfortable writing about France,
and Korean readers may well be comfortable reading stories about France.
Hansen : Korea is not a main topic in
the media coverage of Asia in Europe.
Other Asian countries steal the spotlight
in headlines, and South Korea gains attention only when it clashes with North
Korea. European journalists tend to think

that South Korea is just a partner of
North Korea. The bigger problem is that
even the North Korean issue does not
interest Europeans any longer. Repeated
threats come off as boring.
Koreas competitors are China and Japan.
Europeans interest in Japan declined, but
China is getting the spotlight. European
reporters are sent off to Beijing to cover
the country. South Korea, meanwhile, is
rarely covered in the media as a separate
story. South Korea gains news value only
when it is coupled with North Korea. In
the business sector, Samsung and Hyundai could draw some one-off attention.
South Koreas presidential and general
elections are only briefly mentioned or
Volume. 4 2010 no.2
141
Reports
not reported at all in the European media.

Malesevic : A monthly magazine reported
on Asia, Latin America and Africa extensively in the 1970s-90s. Once the magazine introduced how a European nation
gave aid to the regions or the progress
made by a poverty-stricken nation, other
media quoted the reports immediately
and reproduced the news.
In that period, a large number of Korean
children were adopted, and the local media produced related news stories. When a
Korean baby was adopted, reporters told
stories about how he or she was growing up in a Swedish family, along with the
family history. Documentaries were also
produced, depicting Korean adoptees
who grew up in Sweden. These stories,
however, are concerned about individuals
and Koreans growing up in Sweden -- not
stories about Korea.
In the past couple of years, all the news
about Korea was related to the economy.
The only non-economic news about Korea in the past six months was the fiveline brief on a successful performance
of Koreans synchronized swimming in
Sweden
142
Toth : I want to introduce two instances

that show the Europeans prejudice toward Korea. When a Christian group was
kidnapped in Afghanistan, many Europeans belatedly came to know that Korea
was not a Buddhist country but a country
with many Christians. The second is the
physical fights that happen a lot at the
National Assembly in South Korea, which
is often reported by Reuters. The physical fights have some negative aspects, but
when Europeans watch the news, they
also feel that Korea has become a true democracy.
Manta : I wonder why the Korean media
rarely cover the EU-related news.
Song Pyung-in : First of all, its difficult
to understand. And secondly, there is a
doubt about whether its relevant or not.
The EU executive commission or European Parliament go through a decisionmaking process that is quite different
from the procedure here in Korea. Any
decision by a Korean president gets a real
impact, but in EU the process is often
unstable. Therefore, Korean media tend
to give lower priority to EU-related news.

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ISSN 1976-1686

The Meaning of the G20

Korean Media Overview

Chairman, Korea Press Foundation

Executive Director, Korea Press Foundation

Professor, Division of Media Studies, Ewha Woman's University

Professor, Department of Mass Communication, Yonsei University

Secretary General, Korean Association of Newspapers

Intrnational Relations Office Manager, Yonhap News Agency

Research Fellow, Korea Press Foundation

[ Column _The Meaning of the G20 Seoul Summit 2010 ]

[ Cover Story_ Korean Media Overview ]

Overview of Korean Broadcasting

Landscape of New Media Industry in Korea

A History of Koreas Media

Korean Media List

A Study on Press Arbitration System in South Korea

Latest Key Issues surrounding North Korea

Korea-EU Journalist Seminar

Korea Journalism Review

The Meaning of the

resolving global problems.

Korea Journalism Review

North Korean people to crushing poverty and starvation.

Korea Journalism Review

Volume. 4 2010 no.2

Cover Story : Korean Media Overview

General Trends in the

Approximately a quarter century ago when I

Korea Journalism Review

became democratized after the Peoples

been democratized, while the competition

1. Act for Guarantee of Freedom

After the amended Law on Newspapers was

Cover Story : Korean Media Overview

prevents the cross ownership of newspaper,

Korea Journalism Review

joint-ownership license to newspapers

2. The New Requirement of the

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) of

nounced last year that newspaper companies

Local sellers of newspapers also operate

3. The Recovery of Newspaper

Amid sweeping structural changes within

Volume. 4 2010 no.2

Cover Story : Korean Media Overview

Table 1 : The Decline of Newspaper Subscriptions in South Korea

Subscription Rate (%)

*Source: Korea Press Foundation

4. Law on Supporting the

This special law effective for limited time

Korea Journalism Review

rary, it would have terminated on June 10,

The Korea Online Newspaper Association

duction of this article, 30 years have passed

Volume. 4 2010 no.2

Cover Story : Korean Media Overview

Overview of Korean Broadcasting

1. Current Korean Broadcasting

The Korean broadcasting industry has

Korea Journalism Review

broadcasting and newspaper act in July 2009

stations, including KBS, MBC, EBS and