14 September 2023
South Korea: News outlets raided as attacks on media escalate
News outlet Newstapa and broadcaster Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company (JTBC) have been raided by South Korean authorities after reporting in 2022 on an allegedly fake interview claimed to discredit then-Presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Journalists Association of Korea (JAK), condemn the intimidation and legal harassment of media workers and news outlets and urge the authorities to cease all investigations immediately.
South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the ASEAN-South Korea Summit in Jakarta on September 6, 2023. Credit: Tatan Syuflana / POOL / AFP
On September 14, investigators and prosecutors with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office were dispatched to the offices of online news outlets Newstapa and broadcaster Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company (JTBC), seizing materials related to a 2021 interview between trade union leader and former journalist Shin Hak-lim and Kim Man-bae, a key figure in a land development scandal.
At the offices of Newstapa, company representatives reportedly refused to cooperate with the prosecutors without the presence of a lawyer, however eventually allowed the prosecutors entrance. The homes of a Newstapa reporter and a former JTBC journalist were also raided.
The incumbent People’s Power Party (PPP) took issue with the report’s alleged framing of the current President (then-candidate) Yoon Suk Yeol as having participated in an illegal loan scheme in 2011. The interview, recorded in September 2021, was released by Newstapa on March 6, 2022, three days before the national elections, with JTBC reporting a similar story in February the same year. The digital publication was one of several outlets to cover or republish the interview and allegations.
Prosecutors raided Kim’s home and office on September 6, with Shin summoned for questioning at Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ office on September 7. Authorities announced on September 11 their intention to open investigations into several other outlets, including the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), treated the recording. The Office of the President described the interview as an ‘extraordinary political scheme’ a day before the initial raid, claiming the interview unfairly influenced the 2022 election.
Kim is also suspected of paying Shin KRW 165,000,000 (approx. USD 140,000) in September 2021 for books authored by Shin, with prosecutors alleging this inflated rate influenced Shin’s judgement. Kim has denied requesting an interview, instead alleging the conversation was strictly personal. He further claimed the inflated price paid for the publications was due to their exceptional value.
Announced on September 7, the decision by authorities to prosecute media professionals and outlets marks the first actioned prosecution related to press coverage since 2008. However, since his election in 2022, President Yoon has been at the centre of several attacks on press freedom. In October 2022, the MBC was targeted through legal action and protests led by PPP lawmakers, after the broadcaster allegedly misrepresented comments made by the President in a hot mic incident. President Yoon later excluded journalists and media workers with the outlet from a presidential envoy to the G20 in November.
JAK President Kim Dong-hoon said: “We express concern about the increasing intensity of the government's media suppression as we approach next year's general elections. The ruling party in South Korea, the People Power Party(PPP), has not only taken legal actions against media outlets and journalists who reported on the dialogue records of our fellow journalists, Shin Hak-lim and Kim Man-bae, both of whom have a journalism background but also against journalists who quoted and covered these records. Moreover, they have even targeted political commentators who wrote articles about the related content. Furthermore, they have filed defamation complaints against radio hosts who reported on the incident. […] The JAK, along with other major media organizations, is committed to staunchly opposing the ruling party's endeavours to manipulate the media and will dedicate their collective efforts to safeguarding press freedom.”
The IFJ said: “These raids and investigations against media outlets are the latest in a concerning trend of media rights violations led by the incumbent government in the Republic of Korea. The IFJ urges the prosecutors’ offices to withdraw all investigations against Newstapa, JTBC, and the outlets’ journalists, and calls on the People’s Power Party to ensure that press freedom is upheld and protected.”
