Did Roh Reward Those Who Restricted Freedom of the Press?

The Roh administration paid for an 8-day vacation for officials of the Government Information Agency (GIA) to three European countries. They had spearheaded Roh’s anti-free speech measures disguised as the Advanced Media Support System. Officially, the trip was to help them learn about advanced policy promotional systems used by European countries.

The GIA confirmed Tuesday that 13 of its officials headed by a senior member visited Europe from November 25 to December 2.

According to the agency, they examined how the countries operate pressrooms and what vehicles are used to promote government policies by paying visits to the federal promotional agency of Germany, the German reporters’ association, the integrated briefing rooms of the EU, and other similar destinations. The GIA also explained that its officials worked as diplomatic staff members during their stay in Europe.

Experts are criticizing the group’s itinerary for being unnecessarily long. The GIA officials, for instance, stayed in Berlin for two days and Paris for three days.

The officials spent 50 million won in tax money on their trip, according to the GIA.

A GIA senior member explained, “This opportunity helps our staff members understand how global systems work. It has been an annual event of ours.”

myzodan@donga.com