During the impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye, the Korean press released numerous fabrications, exaggerations, witch-hunting incitements and sensationalist coverage. This level of (severely collective) false reporting is difficult to find in the history of Korean media. Newspapers, broadcasters, major and minor media outlets were largely identical in their reporting. Only some online media, current-affairs magazines and one-person broadcasts pointed out the problems of unconfirmed and indiscriminate allegations. Since almost all the media were "accomplices", mutual monitoring and criticism of obviously false reports could not be found. Even after the problems were revealed, most media did not properly apologize or take responsibility, unlike the practice in the media in developed countries such as the U.S. and Japan.
Apart from objective assessments and criticisms of former president Park's political agenda, examples of "problematic" Korean media coverage in the recent impeachment that are close to madness will be covered in two parts: newspapers and broadcasts. <Editor’s Note>
________
During the impeachment process of former president Park Geun-hye, several newspapers reported "hearsay", which was not verified as factual or was later revealed to be misreported, as au fait accompli. This misreporting resulted in the wrath of the Korean people against the President. The media had a widespread distorted perception that, whether true or not, it may be okay to report excessive allegations, since she did "something" wrong. It was difficult to find a media outlet that took responsibility or properly apologized for critical errors or false reports that were later revealed. In particular, rather than an impartial judgment of political decisions, many media intentionally provoked the anger of the general public - and therefore enhanced media circulation - with reports that the former president was drugged and in an abnormal mental state, along with other severely irresponsible, sloppy coverage and comments that bordered on voyeurism.
Last December, one year after the National Assembly passed the impeachment bill, a novel, "Victim of Misogyny, Marie Antoinette", by the popular Japanese author, "Shusaku Endo", was translated and published by Park Jeong-ja, a professor emeritus of Sangmyung University, who edited the book. In its preface, the professor stated that "the anachronism of forcefully dragging down the incumbent president, who had only one year of her presidential term left, in a developed country with a liberal democracy where the regime changes every five years, was a success almost entirely because of the sex-related scandal." The professor also criticized the "formidable expansion of social media and irresponsible conspiracy theories of orthodox media".
Numerous newspapers reported statements and allegations with little or no evidence or filtration. Articles and comments were flooded with their own conclusions, They had already decided that abuses of power existed. Facts that were not favorable to the slant the media wanted to portray had been framed as "lies that have not yet been revealed." The damage and after-effects left by the prejudice, self-righteousness, irresponsibility and ignorance of newspapers and journalists are still being felt.
As a consequence of this process, Koreans' dissatisfaction with the overall Korean media, including newspapers, has increased. In particular, this led readers to massively unsubscribe to mainstream newspapers.
● Flooded with mis-reports... and media that never apologized or took responsibility.
Lee Chul-jae, a reporter from JoongAng Ilbo, released an article on October 27th, 2016, titled <"Choi Tae-min is Korea’s Rasputin" - Diplomatic Cable by the U.S. Embassy in 2007>. However, it was pointed out that the information regarding the domestic rumor was mis-translated as if the U.S. Embassy were directly evaluating Choi Tae-min as Rasputin. Back then, this report was circulated with the title, <In a Confidential Diplomatic Document, the U.S. Embassy Referred to Choi Tae-min as Korea’s Rasputin> without any explanation.
No one took responsibility, even after the fact was revealed that the "Choi Tae-min is Korea’s Rasputin" report was a deliberately distorted rumor.
JoongAng Ilbo published that "the US evaluated Choi Tae-min, the father of Choi Soon-sil (63 years old, female, renamed as Choi Seo-won) who was suspected of influencing the president behind the scenes, as a "Korean Rasputin". This diplomatic cable was hacked and published on WikiLeaks. In fact, the U.S. Embassy did not directly evaluate, but rather was merely relaying rumors it had observed in Korea. Columnist W.Y. Joh, a popular English textbook writer in the U.S., criticized on November 1st, 2016 that "JoongAng Ilbo reported external claims or rumors to misrepresent them as the embassy’s evaluation." JoongAng Ilbo stealthily deleted the problematic article, "Choi Tae-min is Rasputin" without any explanation. Currently, only the US JoongAng Ilbo and JTBC links remain.
In some cases, false information was spread stating that the U.S. Embassy in Korea participated in the "one-minute blackout event" during the candlelight vigil, encouraging the impeachment fervor. This was directly disputed by the U.S. Embassy the following day, but no media outlets retracted it.
Joongang Ilbo published online on December 4th, 2016 that "the U.S. Embassy in Korea gained attention by participating in the one-minute blackout event during the 5th candlelight vigil on December 3rd in Gwanghwamun" in an article titled, "U.S. Embassy also Supports Participating in ‘One-minute Blackout’". In addition, Joongang Ilbo even highlighted the (supposed) contrasting scene stating, "it showed the contrast with the bright lights of the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History just next door." This simply did not occur.
JTBC, a comprehensive programming channel and affiliate of JoongAng Ilbo, also presented this false report and stated that, "netizens interpreted this scene as even the U.S. giving up on Park Geun-hye's regime." In fact, some netizens caused a huge sensation, mentioning that "this embarrasses the country" or "even the U.S. joins the candlelight vigil".
The news of the "one-minute blackout by the U.S. Embassy" was first reported by Yu Gil-yong, a reporter from JoongAng Ilbo, on December 4th at dawn. (Currently, this JoongAng Ilbo article cannot be searched on Naver.) Following this report, other newspapers covered the same in print or online. The Chosun Ilbo referred to "a diplomatic source", stating, "the diplomatic source relayed on December 4th that the U.S. Embassy in Korea participated in the one-minute blackout event during the 5th candlelight vigil to urge president Park Geun-hye to step down on the 3rd".
The U.S. Embassy in Korea officially denied these reports on December 5th. Even after the U.S. Embassy's denial, it was difficult to find newspapers that retracted their misinformation.
Some media outlets did publish short online reports mentioning that "the U.S. Embassy did not participate". People did not pay attention to this information.
JoongAng Ilbo included a small correction in their brief news section (page 18), which was practically invisible compared to the previous day's report (page 6). There were many media outlets that did not even provide any retraction. This is considered to be a case of showing a distorted reality where incorrect reports can tell whatever truth is desired.
● Sloppy yellow journalism... Flooded with witch-hunting allegations, "never mind if it's not true"
During the impeachment a considerable number of newspapers seemed to be competing in a "who is better at arousing suspicion, mocking and mud-slinging" contest. Numerous articles created the fabricated image of a pathetic woman who was obsessed with plastic surgery, cosmetics, witchcraft and TV dramas, while also being a drug addict and puppet. Unconfirmed information was reported continually, causing the rampant wrath of the people. In fact, a significant number of people are still unable to escape the influence of these distorted reports.
● The Hankyoreh Article on December 7th, 2017 "Wasting 90 Minutes Getting Hair Styled as Sewol Ferry Sank"
The Hankyoreh confirmed on December 6th that president Park Geun-hye wasted more than 90 minutes with a popular stylist from Gangnam who visited the Blue House to do her hair, rather than taking measures to rescue passengers on the Sewol ferry on April 16th, 2014. An hour and a half of the seven hours in question were revealed, but her whereabouts for the other five hours and 30 minutes still remain unknown.
Though they were well aware of the facts, some "sources" at the Blue House were said to have told the Hankyoreh that ( "it took about 90 minutes to do her hair on that day, same as usual." In contrast, the Blue House stated, "people directly involved verified that it took about 20 minutes."
Yun Jeon-chu on January 5th at the Constitutional Court claimed, "she already had simple makeup in the morning. There was no reason to take 90 minutes during the Sewol ferry tragedy."
Although the report above included the rebuttal by the Blue House, it was published with the title as if it were a conclusion, quoting a source who seemed to know the situation. Despite the fact that its validity was disputable, and the circumstances which made it difficult to present clear evidence, the title was very sensational. The article content may be interpreted as the Blue House making an excuse for the fact verified by the Hankyoreh. Ha Eo-young, a reporter from the Hankyoreh who wrote this report, was named in 14 articles labeled "exclusive" from October 12th, 2016 until the end of December 2016 based on Naver search.
While newspapers were competitively "conducting a witch hunt on Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil", so-called "exclusive articles" were published more than ten times a day. Their titles were extremely sensational and a considerable number of these reports were proven to be false or significantly exaggerated.
Many media outlets reported based on biased partial facts, making it difficult to understand incidents in depth. Unclear and unverified information was reported through anonymous people and third parties, and presented as truth. Once the information was accepted, it was hard to correct unless people were interested in doing their own research. Such media coverage affected the credibility of newspaper companies.
● The Kyunghyang Shinmun Article on November 23rd, 2016 <The Blue House Bulk Purchase of Nourishing and Cosmetic Injections, including "Placenta" and "White Jade"> (Online Edition Title: The Blue House Purchased Viagra with National Tax Revenue)
It was verified that the Blue House purchased a large number of nourishing and cosmetic injections, so-called "placenta injections" and "white jade injections". The purchase list gained attention by including Viagra and Pal Pal Tab, which are erectile dysfunction medicines. It was confirmed that the Blue House purchased 60 tablets of Viagra, a treatment for male erectile dysfunction, from Pfizer Korea in December last year. Viagra was originally developed as a cardiovascular medicine, but not really used as a treatment for heart disease.
The Blue House announced on November 23rd that "Viagra is a medicine for erectile dysfunction, but is also used for altitude sickness. We prepared it as a preventive measure for altitude sickness when the president visited Africa, however, it was never used." President Park Geun-hye visited three African countries, including Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya from May 25th. Since these three countries have high altitudes, Viagra was purchased to treat staff for altitude sickness.
These reports were certainly eye-catching. They encouraged readers to imagine Viagra being used for other (sex-related) purposes . A sex scandal spread online due to the mentioning of Viagra. Some argued that this was voyeurism targeting the single female president.
Numerous media outlets reported gossip without clear evidence, outraging the public. These reports were countless, including ▲Witchcraft superstition controversy, "if you want something desperately, the whole universe will help you achieve it", ▲President Park, "abnormal soul", ▲Shamanic ritual by the Blue House during Sewol ferry tragedy, ▲Alias "Gil Ra-im" controversy at Chaum Clinic, ▲Rumor of Choi Soon-deuk (sister of Choi Soon-sil) being an alumna of the president, ▲"Choi Soon-sil's son worked at the Blue House", ▲"Actually, more stories will continue to come out after Viagra and drugs. There will be sex-related tapes released too."
Thus, the press, which were supposed to correct the authenticity of unconfirmed rumors, instead encouraged incitement and madness, instead of performing their duty.
● Biased reports that supported the candlelight vigils, and denounced the Taegeukgi rallies
Most newspapers actively supported the candlelight vigils that urged the impeachment of the president. During the candlelight vigils, terrible enactments of former president Park Geun-hye's head being guillotined and profane "violence and heckling" aimed at major business leaders of the Korean economy, including Lee Jae-yong, the vice chairman of Samsung, were rampant. However, only peaceful-looking rallies were reported. Numerous newspapers reported with a mob mentality, considering one "evil" if they were against the candlelight vigils.
Although some of the policies of the Park Geun-hye government could be criticized, the facts were obviously not revealed. In a chaotic situation, there was also public sentiment that was reluctant to bring down the current president during her term. However, this was completely ignored by the media.
The number of people who participated in the candlelight vigils was substantially exaggerated.
During the right-wing regime, left-leaning media outlets were always searching for something to attack. However, even major newspapers that contributed to maintaining the center of the Korean society during the mad cow disease rampage in 2008 were not so different from left-leaning media outlets during the impeachment. The number of attendees at the candlelight vigils claimed by the organizers, which was far beyond the actual participants, appeared in the headlines and editorial titles on the front pages of newspapers.
The reality was that the number of participants in the candlelight vigils, over time, became less than the number of participants in the Taegeukgi rallies (supporting the President). The cumulative number of participants in the candlelight vigils (claimed by the organizers) propelled the public to the conclusion that the "candlelight vigils equal the public sentiment in the Republic of Korea."
"950,000 candles" blazed, but not a single person was brought to the police station.
"Vigil that the world watches"... Peace symbol flower stickers on police bus blockade
From 20,000 to 2.32 million people... "Candles became a torch" to judge authority
2.32 million people... One out of 20 Korean people lit candles
Miracle of "peace", which is more amazing than 4 million candles... Sacred ground of the Blue House was pierced
"7.5 million candle revolution... A new beginning, not an end"
New year to "see president Park out and the new year in" with public sentiment that exceeded 10 million candles
Candles soon to be 10 million... Pro-Park group will "gather 500,000"
133 days of blazing... 16 million candles... Awakened the concept that "the country belongs to the people"
<Excerpt from the morning news reports related to the "candlelight vigils">
On the other hand, the Taegeukgi rallies, actively attended by conservative right-wing citizens, was neglected by the press. During the Taegeukgi rallies in midwinter at the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, many people from all walks of life participated, including former and current company executives and employees, military reserve soldiers, university professors, elementary, middle and high school teachers, major university and high school alumni, individuals running private businesses or who were self-employed, and housewives who did not have much interest in politics.
Many citizens who attended the Taegeukgi rallies had actively participated in the June Struggle in 1987 where people from numerous backgrounds went to the streets, demanding that the Chun Doo-hwan regime revise the constitution. And yet, numerous newspapers referred to the rally participants as "ParkSaMo (supporters of Park Geun-hye)" or "pro-Park group", even denouncing them as the "far-right party". When the candlelight vigil was in full swing, the press only focused on the "candlelight public sentiment". Over the course of time, the Taegeukgi rallies overwhelmed the candlelight vigils in terms of the number of participants.
The media outlets belatedly asked for both sides for restraint.
Counter protest by pro-Park group, "we are the victorious protagonists"
Pro-Park group went too far threatening the constitutional court and special prosecutor
Conservative groups, including ParkSaMo, "counter protest"
ParkSaMo participates in a large scale counter protest to "nullify impeachment"
"Taegeukgi rally" that threatens constitutional institutions and instigates bloodshed
"What did president Park do wrong?"... Far-right party, counter protest
<Excerpt from the morning news reports related to the "Taegeukgi rallies">
PART 2 - The Politics Behind the Impeachment: False Media Coverage & Sensationalism (Part 2)-Broadcast Media
● Problematic columns that led core readers to "unsubscribe"
In addition to articles written by reporters, editorials of executive-level journalists also elicited controversy and criticism. Besides the left-wing media outlets that focused on the flaws of every right-wing regime, some journalists for mainstream newspapers who did not achieve even minimal basics of journalism and wrote a series of unreasonable columns, were intensively criticized by right-wing intellectuals and the public. Representative cases are Kim Sun-deok, the editorial writer at the Dong-a Ilbo (former editorial chief), and Lee Ha-kyung, the chief editor at JoongAng Ilbo. Their columns during the impeachment were well below levels expected of quality journalism, despite their justification of "criticizing the president". They were considered a typical example of "irresponsible conspiracy theories of orthodox media" pointed out by the professor emeritus, Park Jeong-ja.
Excerpt from Kim Sun-deok Column on October 31st, 2016 "Assassination of the Presidential System in 2016"
Not the president we chose… Daughter of Korea's Rasputin… Country run by the influencer behind-the-scenes… Unfortunate president who ended up with the corruption of a close ally…
The Dresden speech by president Park Geun-hye in 2014, which was considered a "monumental speech" by the Washington Post, was revised by Choi Soon-sil. My whole body was appalled at whether she just revised individual expressions or designed the entire idea of peaceful reunification. Was she that much of a blank slate as to ask Choi Soon-sil for advice when she had her own Minister of Foreign Affairs and assistants?
This was what the people were most furious and dejected about. Koreans elected Park Geun-hye, the daughter of Park Chung-hee and Yuk Young-soo, as president. However, it turned out that a madam from Gangnam who casually talked with a man from a host bar, and also the daughter of Choi Tae-min who was considered Korea's Rasputin, a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man, had the president's ear, taught her and ran national affairs.
I hope the year of 2016 would terminate the influencer behind-the-scenes, the corruption and sex scandals of president Park and Choi Soon-sil that are assassinating the presidential system.
Excerpt from Kim Sun-deok Column on January 23rd, 2017 "President Park May Really Be a Victim"
"Is it true that president Park Geun-hye was suffering from adrenal insufficiency?", asked Kim Gyeong-jin, a member of the People's Party. "I cannot say", answered Kim Sang-man, a physician of the former president. However, I believe that it would be more likely to be true. It's because of Kim Sang-man, a physician known for adrenal therapy using placenta injections and the author of "Let's fix adrenal, the chronic fatigue solver".
President Park may be a victim of confinement at the presidential residence in the Blue House by trusted Choi Soon-sil. When looking at the president who did not change much without Choi Soon-sil, the real victim may be the people. She does not even know about the blacklist. I wonder perhaps if she does not even remember what she has done due to Zolpidem.
A series of "Kim Sun-deok Columns" during the impeachment set an "unusual record" of rage and public criticism by intellectuals with a large influence on a considerable number of people who were the core readers of conservative right-wing newspapers. It damaged the image of the Dong-a Ilbo, an orthodox mainstream newspaper. Park Sung-hyun, the former chief editor at NewDaily who emphasizes "honesty of the mind", posted on Facebook last October, criticizing that "the bloody column, in which Kim Sun-deok criticized president Park referring to Rasputin, was a pornographic implication regarding her relationship with Choi Tae-min. Apart from the fact that Kim Sun-deok actively supported the impeachment, it was still a heinous tactic to mention Rasputin. He also recalled that "the grotesque group of people wearing black hats, black robes and white papers with 'Grim Reaper' written on them was walking around during the candlelight vigils at the end of 2016. The aesthetic taste of Kim Sun-deok, who stated that the candlelight vigils were 'bright and lively', was completely twisted.
Jo Woo-seok, the former chief editor at Mediapen, wrote a column last March stating that, "at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, while the Chosun Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo created absurd articles causing rebellion; if the Dong-a Ilbo had been faithful to the ideology of liberal democracy instead of blindly following, it would have been possible to reclaim its top rank in the newspaper market. However, the Dong-a Ilbo missed that opportunity to become the number one newspaper. The columns of Kim Sun-deok, who is a low quality reporter with a severe political bias, destroyed news articles."
The columns of Lee Ha-kyung, the chief editor at JoongAng Ilbo, also became a hot-button issue.
Excerpt from a Lee Ha-kyung Column on January 9th, 2017 "Bloody Ball and Seven Hours of Sewol Ferry"
「A sign of a tragic downfall was what Park Geun-hye and Nikolai II shared... Betraying common sense since they could not sympathize with the agony of others... In the midst of bloody bombardment in Moscow, the Emperor hosted a ball and danced with the Empress. Although the Russian people were strongly loyal to call a 28-year-old young Emperor their "beloved father", they expelled the Emperor from their hearts when he failed to sympathize with their pain.
The fate of Nikolai II, who was dethroned by the February Revolution in 1917 and executed by the Bolsheviks the following year, was heralded by the ball where he had betrayed common sense 21 years prior...
On April 16th, 2014 about one year after the inauguration, Park Geun-hye also did not behave like a president during the Sewol ferry tragedy when 304 people were buried alive at sea. Above all, she did not grasp the minds of the people, which also sank into the abyss of the tragedy. While the ferry was sinking, suspicions were aroused that she had been with an executive officer who used to be a personal trainer in the presidential residence, not in her office; that she had called a hairdresser and had her hair styled; and that she received a dermatological treatment.
Since the whereabouts of the president were unknown, the national security adviser delivered the initial status report to both the main building and the residence simultaneously. After receiving the initial report at 10 AM, the president appeared in the Central Anti-Calamity Headquarters after 7 hours and asked, "I heard that everybody including the students were wearing life jackets. Is it that difficult to find them?"
Every single Korean knew that the ferry had already sunk by watching TV in real time. However, the suspicion that arose that only the president herself did not know was still unanswered after 1,000 days. The lack of common sense, which insulted the values of a presidency to protect the lives and safety of its citizens, resembles the Tsar who ignored the livelihood of his people. A ritual of atonement is necessary to erase the inhumanity of the bloody ball and 7 hours of the Sewol ferry tragedy.
Excerpt from a Lee Ha-kyung Column on November 22nd, 2016 "Candlelight Citizens Want to Abolish the Ancien Régime"
The aspiration of people regardless of gender and age from children in strollers to the elderly will not stop with the primary goal of forcing the resignation of president Park Geun-hye, who is at the center of the monopoly of government affairs as well as a breach of constitutional government. Everyone is demanding the establishment of a new democratic republic where they become owners. The restless energy of two civic revolutions in the eighteenth century, including the American Revolution and the French Revolution, which abolished the Ancien Régime, was resurrected in the "candlelight revolution" of citizens in a square in Korea 200 years later.
The 4th candlelight vigil on November 19th was a miraculous day... Singer Jeon In-kwon appealed that "if ParkSaMo beats you, just get beaten." There was no general leader, but everyone equally shared and listened to each other's thoughts... Would there be a united whole that can perform an honorable and non-violent revolution like this?... The public sentiment was calling for the framework of a new era that could completely replace the Ancien Régime. They were demanding the abolition of the "Park Chung-hee paradigm", which created the failed presidency of Park Geun-hye... Citizens were asking "how to create a democratic republic based on the intent of the majority". If it cannot be answered properly, entire political circles would be subject to the judgment of the candlelight revolution and be destroyed.
In response, the former chief editor, Jo Woo-seok, criticized that, "Lee Ha-kyung never stopped praising the revolution and made us laugh. He wrapped the candlelight and impeachment with a 'pleasant civil revolution' and 'wonderful velvet revolution'. Now that the candlelight is revealed as public madness and mobocracy, it simply looks ridiculous."
With the hostility to chief editor Lee's columns and the extremely biased coverage by Sohn Suk-hee, the president of a comprehensive programming channel and affiliate of JoongAng Ilbo, JTBC, JoongAng Ilbo is facing a sharp decrease in conservative readers and a financial crisis .
As for the overall reporting of mainstream newspapers during the impeachment, Jo Woo-seok also emphasized that "they jumped on the candlelight public sentiment and drove the whole country into uncontrollable chaos. We all remember the madness of inciting reports with a mob mentality over the last few months." In case of the Chosun Ilbo with the largest circulation in Korea, it had relatively less controversy regarding problematic columns during the impeachment. However, it was still in trouble as a result of its main readers massively unsubscribing after the "former chief editor Song Hee-young incident" and huge misreports targeting Woo Byung-woo, the former senior secretary for civil affairs, general impeachment-related articles, and the rumors around Lee Jin-dong, a manager at TV Chosun, and Ko Young-tae.
It is difficult to deny that the Park Geun-hye government provided considerable reasons for the distorted reporting by the press. Although it was the latter part of the regime, the government was responsible for not properly responding to obviously false reports. However, no matter what excuses the press made, they cannot justify the numerous irresponsible reports that were released by the Korean media at the time of political change during the last "impeachment". There were a considerable number of severely distorted reports, enough to impose severe penalties on reporters and executives, or enough to close a newspaper if it were in the U.S. or Japan.
Many people are still outraged at the media that never apologized or took responsibility when their errors were revealed after reporting false and inciting news as au fait accompli and with a mentality of "never mind if it's not true". In particular, many of them were loyal and core readers who subscribed for a long time without being affected by promotional activities. It will not be easy to change their minds back unless the press humbly acknowledge incorrect reports during the impeachment and perform follow-up measures to convince the unsubscribed readers.
PART 2 - The Politics Behind the Impeachment: False Media Coverage & Sensationalism (Part 2)-Broadcast Media
No comments:
Post a Comment