Hong Ik-pyo, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Policy Coordination Meeting held at the National Assembly on the 25th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Hong Ik-pyo, the Policy Committee Chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to promptly investigate allegations that the Korea ABC Association manipulated newspaper circulation figures, which serve as the basis for subsidy payments, stating, “The Ministry must investigate and clarify the facts as soon as possible.”
At the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 25th, Chair Hong said, “There have been claims that the ABC Association manipulated the circulation numbers of major daily newspapers. This is one of the media reform tasks.”
He pointed out, “An investigation was conducted after a whistleblower complaint was filed in December last year, and the results showed only 49% of the publicly announced circulation figures of major media outlets. For example, the Chosun Ilbo reported 1.16 million copies, but the actual investigation found only about 580,000 copies. Several facts need to be clarified.”
Chair Hong emphasized, “We need to determine whether false pressure was applied to employees, whether newspapers submitted false data in collusion, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism must quickly announce the investigation results. Newspapers can gain significant economic benefits related to government subsidies, so Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and Dong-A Ilbo are classified as Group A and receive the best advertising rates.”
He added, “This matter must be investigated promptly. If unfair practices are confirmed, it would constitute unjust profits and an improper appropriation of taxpayers’ money,” and concluded, “We expect the government to conduct a swift investigation.”
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