Illustration Used in Articles Criticizing COVID-19 Measures and Reminding of President Moon Reused in 4 Unrelated Articles
"Causing Confusion and Misunderstanding" - Another Apology Following the Illustration of Cho Kuk and Daughter
An article about the Chosun Ilbo incident featuring an illustration of President Moon Jae-in. Photo by Chosun Ilbo capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] It has been revealed that the Chosun Ilbo not only used an illustration of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and his daughter in an article related to prostitution but also inappropriately used an illustration of President Moon Jae-in in four unrelated articles.
On March 4 last year, Chosun Ilbo published a column by Culture Engineer Jeong Jin-hong titled "Keeping Distance from President Moon Jae-in," featuring an illustration of President Moon wearing a mask surrounded by several people. The column criticized the government's COVID-19 quarantine measures.
Subsequently, this illustration was reused in various incident reports by Chosun Ilbo. It was confirmed that one reporter attached the illustration of President Moon to articles such as "Only One Person Not Confirmed at Dongchunghacho Briefing, Did Not Remove KF94 Mask Throughout the Event" on September 16 last year, and "Intercop Reported to Police for Suspected Gathering of Over 3,000 People in the Mountains" on October 13 of the same year. This reporter is the same individual who caused controversy by using an illustration of former Minister Cho Kuk and his daughter in an article related to prostitution.
Another reporter also inserted the illustration of President Moon in two unrelated articles: "Brazen Pharmaceutical Factory Manager... Sold 7,000 Fake Masks to Police" on August 10 last year, and "I Will Sell Masks for You. Embezzled 200 Million Won" on February 15 this year. Currently, all illustrations in these articles have been removed.
As the controversy spread, Chosun Ilbo apologized on the 24th, stating, "We caused confusion and misunderstanding by using illustrations that are not directly related to the content of the articles. Chosun.com will take this opportunity to thoroughly manage illustrations, photos, and graphics to prevent inappropriate use and do our best to deliver accurate information to readers."
An article by Chosun Ilbo on prostitution featuring an illustration reminiscent of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and his daughter. Photo by Facebook
Earlier, Chosun Ilbo had also apologized on the 23rd for using an illustration reminiscent of former Minister Cho Kuk and his daughter in an article related to prostitution.
On the 21st, Chosun Ilbo used an illustration depicting former Minister Cho Kuk and his daughter in an article titled "Wash First, Trio Who Lured into Prostitution and Pickpocketed." The article reported that three men and a woman in their 20s stole money and valuables from a man in his 50s by luring him into prostitution.
This illustration had originally been used in a column titled "Tracking Cho Min Is Not Stalking, No Need to Apologize," written by Professor Seo Min from Dankook University on February 27 this year.
Regarding this, Chosun Ilbo stated, "Although we used an illustration featuring one woman and three men, upon hearing that this illustration reminded readers of Mr. Cho Kuk and Ms. Cho Min, we replaced it with a different illustration."
They added, "The reporter in charge mistakenly used the illustration showing one woman and three men from the illustration list without knowing the content of Professor Seo Min's column, and management and supervision were also negligent. We sincerely apologize to the Cho family and our readers."
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