[Suwan News = Yoon Byung-ik, Citizen Reporter] Jeon Woo-won, the grandson of Chun Doo-hwan—a key figure in the new military regime—who had been making a series of revelations about his family and acquaintances, exhibited signs of drug-induced hallucinations during a YouTube live stream on the 17th (Korean time). He was subsequently transported to a hospital, and police were dispatched to the scene. Asia Economy and News1, which covered the incident, reported that Mr. Jeon’s Instagram account had disappeared. However, numerous netizens confirmed that while Mr. Jeon’s Instagram account had changed its ID and some posts had been deleted, it is still active.
Although the possibility that Mr. Jeon’s account was hacked has been raised, it is expected to be difficult to verify the facts for the time being due to his transfer. Despite this situation, neither Asia Economy nor News1 has yet issued a correction regarding the matter.
This tendency to be lax in verifying facts and reluctant to issue corrections has been pointed out as one of the chronic problems plaguing the Korean media. During the Sewol ferry disaster, the false report that “everyone had been rescued” was corrected so late that it seriously hindered rescue operations; and the 2018 Kookmin Ilbo article titled “Evolutionary Theory Losing Its Basis… U.S. and Swiss Scientists Announce Research Results Overturning Evolutionary Theory,” published by the Kookmin Ilbo in 2018, was revealed in a rebuttal article by News & Joy titled“Research Overturning Evolution? ‘Fake News’” revealed that the paper’s author had personally refuted the article’s claims, yet no action was taken. Furthermore, the 1945 false report on trusteeship disrupted communication between the left and right political camps, amplifying conflict—an event that served as one of the catalysts for the division of the Korean Peninsula.
Reporter Byun Sang-wook (freelance journalist; former head of CBS’s Content Division and senior reporter; former YTN anchor), who has consistently criticized the Korean media industry, made the following points regarding these issues during a conversation with the author.
There are multiple factors that contribute to the occurrence of inaccurate reporting.
The primary causes are being pressed for time, racing against the clock, or publishing stories without sufficient verification.
While a reporter’s preconceptions and excessive speculation may also play a role, these issues ultimately boil down to a lack of commitment to thoroughness.
When reporting, journalists must always cross-verify information through multiple sources, and the verification procedures and process—including a statement such as “We verified this in the following manner”—must be included in the article.
Furthermore, since media organizations are among the least likely to face accountability due to their public responsibility, they must exercise a strong sense of self-regulation; however, if they are reluctant to acknowledge false reports, they will undermine their very foundation.
Korean media outlets and individual journalists must take this criticism to heart and make every effort to prevent misreporting. Reporters are already being vilified with terms like “scum journalists,” “lowlife journalists,” “journalist scum,” and “hack journalists”—hasn’t this only deepened the public’s distrust and contempt for their own media?
In such situations, readers must never blindly trust any news article, regardless of which media outlet published it; they must carefully verify the facts and actively point out any inaccuracies. For example, in the case of the false report on trusteeship mentioned above—though there are no “what-ifs” in history—if both the left and right camps had not uncritically accepted the article but had instead carefully verified the facts, the conflict between the two sides would not have escalated, nor would it have triggered the division of the Korean Peninsula. Furthermore, during the Sewol ferry disaster, the false report claiming “all passengers rescued” severely hindered rescue operations for those on board, turning it into a massive tragedy that resulted in hundreds of casualties. As such, if readers accept information without carefully verifying the facts, and that information becomes the primary basis for flawed decision-making, there is a high risk of causing irreversible and catastrophic consequences.
The Republic of Korea is a “democratic republic” where sovereignty resides with the “people.” In such a democratic republic, if our citizens falter even at the stage of verifying the facts, how can they make sound decisions? Incidentally, a significant portion of the revelations made by Mr. Jeon Woo-won concerns the atrocities committed by the New Military Regime. Among these atrocities (regardless of whether Mr. Jeon Woo-won mentioned them or not) are acts that undermined the quality of the press(such as media consolidation and the co-optation of journalists). And everyone knows full well that the New Military Regime’s numerous atrocities against the press were ultimately a means to obstruct the public’s ability to verify the facts. We must stay fully alert.
I will conclude this article by quoting a portion of the late Kim Ui-gi’s “Letter to My Fellow Countrymen” below.
My fellow countrymen, what are we doing right now? My fellow countrymen, as we witness the atmosphere of the South—which once saw the hot blood of countless innocent, democratic citizens spilled beneath the May sky through a brutal massacre—now being painted over with distortion, lies, and malicious propaganda through the vicious media suppression by the remnants of the Yushin regime, what are we doing?
Yoon Byung-ik, Citizen Reporter
* Please note that this column reflects the personal opinions of the citizen journalist and does not represent the official position of Suwan News.
