Roh’s PR Team to Film Chief: Resign

It was confirmed on August 15 that real powers in the Korean government information agency directly and indirectly influenced the decision of Jang Dong-hun, a director of the Korea Federation of Film Archives, a state-funded local film industry promotion agency, to resign in March last year.

The head of the Korea Federation of Film Archives runs state-run broadcasting KTV and is elected by an open recruitment. Jang had nine months remaining in his tenure given a contract period of two years and three months from September 2003 to December 2005. He met with reporters of Dong-A Ilbo and said, “In March last year, Kim Chang-ho who was then a newly appointed head of the government information agency, called me into his office and pressured me to resign.” And he quoted him as saying, “Power lines of the government information agency including a spokesman of Cheong Wa Dae, senior secretary for public information and a head of the government information agency have changed. So I believe you must step down as well.”

He argued, “Do you think that the replacement of a spokesman of Cheong Wa Dae and head of the government information agency is relevant to the changing of a head of the Korea Federation of Film Archives? If that move is motivated for promotion of government information, change a head of KBS, the national broadcasting station, not a head of KTV. It has no real power, I think.” He went on to say that he had received mounting pressure from the top to resign before receiving pressure to step down from Kim.

He revealed details of outside pressure by saying, “officials from the government information agency raided my office in January and February last year and seized documents including personal information, evaluations of qualifications and duties of employees, and results of multi-source feedback. At first, I thought that it was a practice of this organization. But my colleagues said this kind of thing has never happened. In reality, it is very difficult to continue to work when a head of an organization faces such a challenge from the outside.” He added, “Lee Baek-man, then vice minister of Government Information Agency and now senior secretary for public information, directly and indirectly interfered in our jobs such as contents of programs and colors of subtitles.”

He continued, “He went beyond his competence by ordering working groups of the fourth and fifth grades in the Korea Federation of Film Archives and even he visited studios and ordered workers to do something while I was watching. If he favored the content of broadcasting, he would not have made such an arrogant visit. If I was not a contract worker, he probably fired me instead of asking me to resign.”

Lee moved to the position of senior secretary for public information in February this year and reported president Roh to dismiss the vice minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Yoo Jin-ryong, after the vice minister rejected his request to influence personal decisions. The Government Information Agency appointed Jeong Gu-cheol who was once a reporter of Media Today and turned to the third grade administration official of a presidential public information office as the head of the state-funded local film industry promotion agency by publicly recruiting him in April last year right after Jang stepped down.

An HR official of the government pointed out that it is an apparent violation of law beyond abuse of authority to persuade a head who is guaranteed his tenure by being publicly recruited to resign on the grounds of reshuffling the lines of the government information agency.

sys1201@donga.com