Gwangju and Jeonnam Local Governments Face Controversy Over Advertising Payments to Far-Right Media Outlets Distorting May 18 Uprising (Comprehensive)

Jangheung: 11 payments, Naju: 7 payments for promotional purposes
Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education: 1 million won for AI Expo advertising
Gwangju Seo-gu: 2 public interest advertisements for district policy promotion
"We were unaware of the outlet's stance... Immediately removed from media registry"

Sky Daily, a newspaper that reported content distorting and disparaging the May 18 Democratic Uprising. Provided by the May 18 Memorial Foundation

It has recently come to light that local governments in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, including the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, spent advertising budgets ranging from several million to tens of millions of won on Sky Daily, a far-right media outlet that has consistently distorted and disparaged the May 18 Democratization Movement, sparking controversy.

According to the May 18 Memorial Foundation on the 17th, a review of government advertising expenditures for Sky Daily from January last year to February this year revealed that local governments in Gwangju and Jeonnam, as well as the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, placed advertisements worth up to tens of millions of won in Sky Daily, which has published false, distorted, and disparaging reports about the May 18 Movement.

Jangheung County and the Jangheung County Council made a total of 11 payments (approximately 16.27 million won) for purposes such as tourism and policy promotion. Naju City and the Naju City Council also spent 7 payments (7.15 million won) for the promotion of local specialties and festivals.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education paid 1 million won last October for advertising the '2024 AI Gwangju Future Education Expo,' while Gwangju Seo-gu paid 2.2 million won over two instances for public interest advertisements promoting district policies.

In addition, local governments in Jeonnam such as Jindo County and its council (3 times), Boseong County (2 times), Shinan County (2 times), Damyang County (2 times), Yeonggwang County (2 times), Gurye County (2 times), and Wando County (1 time) each placed advertisements with the outlet worth several million won.

In response, Kim Ikang, head of Gwangju Seo-gu District, issued an apology on the district's website, stating, "Regardless of the reason, it was wrong to spend advertising funds on Sky Daily, which has blatantly produced and spread fake news about May 18 and insulted Gwangju citizens with a far-right frame." He added, "We only became aware that advertising funds had been spent on Sky Daily, one of over 350 internet media outlets registered in Seo-gu, after a media inquiry."

He continued, "Upon fact-checking, it was found that the PR office did not thoroughly review the media's stance and uniformly placed ads based on the level of coverage of district press releases, applying the same standards as other outlets.""As the chief administrator, I take full responsibility and, upon realizing the situation, immediately ordered that Sky Daily be removed from the list of registered and accessible media, severing all ties."

The Gwangju Teachers' Union also strongly criticized the city education office. In a statement, the union said, "It is absolutely unacceptable that the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, already under fire for excessive promotional spending, paid advertising fees to a far-right outlet that has openly denied the May 18 Democratization Movement." The union continued, "The education office's use of its budget on a media outlet that has continuously spread fake news distorting May 18 as a riot cannot be considered responsible administration," and urged the office to issue an official apology.

The union emphasized, "The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education must immediately apologize and clarify its stance on May 18 education in light of this incident," adding, "We hope to see genuine commitment in the nationwide and global promotion of the spirit of May 18."

In response, the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education also issued a statement, saying, "We deeply apologize to the citizens of Gwangju," and confirmed, "We acknowledge that 1 million won in advertising fees was paid to Sky Daily in October last year."

The office further stated, "The payment was made without recognizing the outlet's stance, as it was one of over 350 registered media," and added, "Regardless of the reason, this should never have happened, and we take full responsibility. Sky Daily has been immediately removed from the list of accessible media."