President Park To Sue Joong Ang Ilbo Newspaper for Defamation
Could you imagine how many lawsuits the Trump administration would have against the American media if libel laws in the US were similar to South Korea?:
President Park Geun-hye decided to sue the JoongAng Ilbo and its source from the independent counsel team on charges of defamation over a report that she ordered the government to create a blacklist of artists critical of her administration to control public sentiment in the aftermath of the Sewol ferry’s sinking in 2014.
Hwang Seong-wook, a lawyer of Park in her impeachment trial, said Saturday that she never ordered anyone to make the so-called blacklist of artists and cultural figures.
In his text message to reporters, Hwang also said Park decided to file criminal and civil suits against journalists and other members of the JoongAng Ilbo for defaming her with its report.
The president is also suing a member of the independent counsel who was quoted in the report as a source.
“Those who frequently make false reports under the shadow of anonymity must stop manipulating the press,” Hwang said. “We also urge the press to report only confirmed, objective facts.”
On the front page of Saturday’s edition, the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, published an exclusive report saying that Park was behind the blacklist scandal.
The report said independent counsel Park Young-soo and his team have so far concluded that the creation of the list started about one month after the tragic ferry accident, which led to the death of 306 people due to the delayed government rescue efforts. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link.
Park is suing for defamation, so has the two of the candidates in the opposition parties have as well. Opposition candidate Moon Jae-In also launched a defamation charge against his opposition. Another opposition party candidate Lee Jae-Myung also launched a defamation charge against Chosun Ilbo for reporting that he broke the law. And let’s not forget Ban Ki-Moon who is also considering a defamation charge against the media which reported that he took bribes in 2005 and 2007. Notice that all these accusations and reports only come out when there’s an election or when they are debating some national policies.
If you’re Korean politician. There’s one thing in common. You’re either a crook (now or in the past), or someone will try to dig deep into your closet to find something to use against you, or all of the above. Then you end up suing for defamation because you can’t take any criticism.
This is all predictable in Korean politics.