297 Media Outlets, Announcement at Yeouido KBS on the 14th
"Recalling Censorship and Control During Military Dictatorship, Anger and Fear"
On the 13th, one day before the second impeachment vote of President Yoon Suk-yeol, citizens who stayed overnight in front of the National Assembly building in Yeouido, Seoul, are holding placards from early morning, urging impeachment. Photo by Jo Yong-jun
On the 13th, 14 media industry organizations publicly released a "Media Industry Declaration on the Current Situation Urging the Impeachment of Yoon Seok-yeol" titled "Impeach Yoon Seok-yeol for the Attempt to Destroy Democracy and Press Freedom." The 14 organizations include the Barun Regional Media Alliance, Broadcast Journalists Association, National Union of Media Workers, Korea Journalists Association, Korea Broadcast Technicians Association, Korea Broadcast Cameramen Association, Korea Photojournalists Association, Korea Announcers Association, Korea Women Journalists Association, Korea Video Journalists Association, Korea Video Editors Association, Korea Investigative Journalists Association, Korea Editors Association, and Korea PD Association.
In the declaration, the organizations stated, "At the crossroads of collapse and leap in the history of democracy in the Republic of Korea, we journalists will ensure the role of free press independent from any power and the accuracy of reporting demanded by the sovereign people."
They continued, "Throughout the media industry, there remain accomplices who mock the social responsibility and political independence of the press while acting as collaborators of the insurrection criminal Yoon Seok-yeol, wasting the people's taxes. The media suppression and broadcast takeover carried out by the regime over the past two and a half years were preliminary acts of insurrection. We will root out these elements and restore press freedom and the people's right to know."
They also said, "All executives and managers of media companies should refrain from any instructions or actions that undermine the autonomy of reporting, editing, programming, and production. Amid the flood of breaking news, we reject any directives driven by obsession with article views or political calculations exploiting confusion."
A total of 297 media outlets and 4,146 journalists participated in signing the declaration. This large-scale media industry declaration is the first in 10 years since the 2015 "Media Industry Declaration Against the Nationalization of Korean History Textbooks."
From the 12th to the 14th, anchors and broadcast journalists wore black clothes, ties, or ribbons on air and began a so-called "Black Protest" urging the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol. This protest is in opposition to the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's suppression of press freedom and the collapse of democracy.
The Black Protest began in 2008 when YTN members wore black ties and clothing to protest the unfair dismissal of President Koo Bon-hong, whom they called a "parachute appointment," during the Lee Myung-bak administration. In 2012, anchors and journalists from SBS and OBS Gyeongin TV also joined and supported the strike for press freedom by the three broadcasters KBS, MBC, and YTN.
Meanwhile, on the 14th, the organizations plan to announce the declaration in front of the KBS headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and join the "National Candlelight March for the Resignation of Yoon Seok-yeol" taking place in front of the National Assembly.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
