The Korea Journalists Association will hold its 60th anniversary celebration at 3 p.m. on the 13th at the Seoul Press Center. The Journalists Association was founded on August 17, 1964.
About 300 figures from politics and the media will attend the event, including National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, acting leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party Park Chan-dae, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon, Presidential Office Chief of Public Relations Lee Do-woon, Korea Journalists Association advisor Park Ki-byeong, Executive Director of the 1980 Dismissed Journalists Association Han Jong-beom, and President of the Korean Women Journalists Association Ha Im-suk.
The program includes a thank-you speech by Chairman Park Jong-hyun, congratulatory remarks from President Yoon Seok-yeol, congratulatory speeches by Speaker Woo Won-shik and others, presentation of merit plaques to former chairpersons who are serving as advisors to the association, presentation of appreciation plaques to organizations that contributed to the association’s development, and awards for the winners of the acrostic poem contest held to commemorate the 60th anniversary.
Chairman Park Jong-hyun said, "The 60-year journey of the Korea Journalists Association can be regarded as a precious history of the press and the Republic of Korea, which senior journalists have sometimes fiercely and sometimes silently protected," adding, "On the occasion of the association’s 60th anniversary, we will continue to uphold the spirit of senior journalists, defend press freedom, and walk together with the people."
The Journalists Association was established to serve as a rallying point to fight against the Press Ethics Committee Act promoted by the military regime in the 1960s. The founding declaration includes five major pledges: defending press freedom, improving journalists’ qualifications, protecting journalists’ rights, peaceful reunification of the homeland, and strengthening international exchange.
After the commemorative event, the second part will hold the 19th Journalists’ Day ceremony. Journalists’ Day was established in 2006 to commemorate the spirit of the production boycott led by the Korea Journalists Association on May 20, 1980, opposing the new military regime’s press censorship. The Journalists’ Day ceremony has awarded the ‘Spirit of the Journalist’ prize. This year, it will be awarded to former MBC President Noh Seong-dae, who was dismissed in June 1980 for resisting the new military regime’s press censorship.
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