[Editorial] When Will Mr. Roh Stop Being So Anti-Media?

When President Roh Moo-hyun said that power and the press should not create a "cartel," what media companies did he have in mind? In the power hierarchy, Cheong Wa Dae is placed at the top. If Cheong Wa Dae tried to create a connection, the object would be some online and off-line newspapers favorable to the office of the president.

Since the inauguration of the Roh Moo-hyun government, we have worried about the cartel of the power and media outlets. He said the cartel among those in power could generate corruption and irregularities as well as oppress weaker parties. As he said, a new set of newspaper circulation disclosure rules, which passed through the Regulatory Reform Committee Friday, is likely to oppress media companies critical of the government. Some say that these guidelines are a kind of institutional device that could damage the press’ function of being a critical voice of the government.

Everyone knows that in a democratic society the press should be critical of the government. If the press neglects its duty of supervising the government on behalf of the public, it is not the press anymore. Therefore, to perform its functions, the press should be free from governmental control.

According to the president, if there was a report undermining confidence in the government, and the government did not take any action, it would constitute dereliction of duties. However, if the press did not report the government’s wrongdoings, the press would really be neglecting its duties. The government should understand that it loses public confidence because of its misuse of power, not because of media reports.

We want to ask the government whether it wants to bring media outlets under complete control as is the case in communist governments or dictatorships. President Roh should keep in mind that past authoritarian governments were branded as failures after attempts to control the press. Though he has a lot of things to do, the president likes to criticize the media, whenever he has the opportunity. We hope however, the president’s view will someday change.