FKI Urges to Stop Threatening Advertisers

“In a market economy, corporations run ads if they need, and they choose the advertising medium considering the effect of ads. It is not right for any group to intervene in the corporate decision.”

In his interview with the Dong-A Ilbo, Jung Byung-chul, vice chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, commented on the recent development surrounding some netizens’ threats against corporations that run ads in the nation’s three major newspapers – the Dong-A Ilbo, the Chosun Ilbo and the JoongAng Ilbo. He stressed, “They are shaking the market economy to the root.”

Jung added, “I think some forces are hiding themselves behind the shield of anonymity and systematically threatening corporations. Otherwise, how can the list of employees working for the corporations be released?”

And, he retorted, “Facing threats, large corporations can manage to survive or come up with their own countermeasures. However, smaller firms such as travel agencies and publishers, which have heavily relied on ads to run their businesses, are helplessly suffering. Why don’t you consider the lives of the employees and their families?”

He also expressed concern over the side effects of the Internet.

“There exists a vast amount of information on the Internet. Undeniably, however, a considerable part of them is not true. If (netizens) release correct information or stage a reasonable argument, they do not need to hide their real names.”

He stressed, “It is urgently needed for the government to strengthen its punishment and regulations on cyber criminals who take advantage of the Internet anonymity and intentionally spread false information or threaten individuals or corporations.”

After collecting opinions of member companies, the Federation of Korean Industries cooperated with other economic organizations to send official letters to some Internet portal sites, which have been used as hotbeds of threats to advertisers.

The federation urged corporations to confront some netizens’ unreasonable threats head-on.

“If corporations yield to the pressure of a particular group, they cannot root out fundamental problems. Corporations should deal with recent disputes from a long-term and long-sighted perspective.”

Jung also mentioned protests against U.S. beef imports and expressed concern over the fact that legalism has vanished into the thin air in Korea.

He said, “They can express their opinions without violating the law and regulations. But, they crossed the police line and protested on the streets. Then, how can they compensate inconvenience they caused to other innocent people? Koreans do not cross the police line when they protest in other nations. But, they violate regulations in Korea. It is related with their own self-esteem.

“I have received many calls from overseas after the candlelight vigils. We do not consider a string of protests as serious problems. But, foreigners are really shocked at recent developments in Korea.”

He said, “If law and order are broken, Korea’s credit rating falls, which, in turn, deals a serious blow to the nation’s economy.”

bae2150@donga.com