Cheong Wa Dae Criticizes Dong-A Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo

On July 9, Cheong Wa Dae has bluntly criticized Dong-A Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo for their coverage of the administrative capital relocation issue, saying, “It is deliberately losing coherence and balance.”

Cheong Wa Dae released an article titled “Chosun and Dong-A Ilbo Should Stop Their Practice of Exorcism of Cursing” under the name of Yang Jung-chul, secretary of Domestic Press to the President, in their briefing on the same day. The article maintained that “the recent coverage of the Dong-A Ilbo and the Chosun Ilbo has imbalanced the coverage of the new administrative capital due to their unilateral criticism, and both have completely lost their neutrality of judgment.”

The Cheong Wa Dae briefing said in the article that “both newspapers did not cover at all the relocation plan of the administrative capital before and after the special law was passed at the National Assembly last year,” and criticized, “They also kept silent when the Grand National Party held the relocation plan as public pledge for the general election. They are acting as if they are controlled by the GNP’s words of command.”

The briefing offered their own statistical numbers regarding their claim that “68 articles (60.7%) held negative views among 130 articles covered by the Dong-A Ilbo related to the issue, and 47 articles (54.7%) among 113 held negative views covered by the Chosun Ilbo.” Also, it added, “The extreme opposing stance held by the two newspapers recently is a practice of exorcism of curses, full of false images.”

The briefing also claimed that both newspapers have strongly supported the administrative relocation plan when former President Park Jung-hee announced the idea in 1977; continuously suggested the problem of overpopulation in the metropolitan area since 1990 but stopped after the presidential election in 2002; and kept silence when presidential candidate Kim Young-sam in 1992, and another candidate, Lee Hoi-chang in 1997, held the administrative capital relocation plan as their public pledge.”

Meanwhile, Uri Party’s Floor Leader Chun Jung-bae said at the general meeting of the Assembly members on the same day that “the construction of the new administrative capital was decided by the legislation when the GNP was the majority, but they are now leading the national opinion into division leaving their own bill behind. It is a complete act of lethargic politics.” He also added, “Some groups are leading the opposing views held by the public, and they are formulating underlying political schemes to shake down the government and to hold on to their existing power.”

“The GNP is a mere organization that practices tones of some newspapers,” said Uri party’s Spokesperson Kim Hyun-mi, offering criticism after the briefing at the extended leaders’ meeting was over prior to the Cheong Wa Dae briefing, saying that “some press” was the source of the opposition to the new administrative capital relocation.”

Jung-Hun Kim Yong-Gwan Jung jnghn@donga.com yongari@donga.com