Korea Journalists Association "Deeply Reflects" on 'Kim Man-bae Money Transaction' Allegations

Major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, Kim Man-bae [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Korea Journalists Association issued a statement on the 10th saying it "deeply reflects" on the allegations that senior executives of major media outlets engaged in financial transactions with Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, a private business operator in the Daejang-dong development project.

The association pointed out, "Journalists must be fair and just with a higher ethical awareness than any other profession to monitor power and fulfill the public's right to know. The allegations that such journalists gained improper financial benefits have, by themselves, inflicted significant wounds on journalism and caused frustration among frontline reporters."

It added, "We urge the thorough investigation and appropriate disciplinary actions by the respective media companies, as well as the establishment of measures to prevent recurrence. Once the investigations by the media companies are completed, the Journalists Association will also discuss disciplinary measures at the association level."

The Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media (Min-eon-ryeon) also stated that this incident "reconfirmed that there are structural problems in the Korean media's reporting and coverage system," urging the media industry to conduct thorough investigations and reform the reporting and coverage system to prevent inappropriate lobbying and entertainment.

The Hankyoreh newspaper decided at a personnel committee meeting held the previous day to dismiss former editorial executive A, who was suspected of borrowing 900 million won from Kim. The Korea Times placed executive B, suspected of borrowing 100 million won from Kim, on standby and conducted an internal investigation, planning to hold a personnel committee on the 12th to decide on disciplinary actions.

The JoongAng Ilbo excluded C, who was suspected of lending 80 million won to Kim and receiving 90 million won back, from duties and is investigating the facts through a fact-finding committee composed of editor-in-chief Ko Hyun-gon, editorial director Shin Yong-ho, and legal and public relations director Kang Jong-ho.