Text Fwd: KBS, MBC and SBS unions unanimously oppose ‘Dialogue with the President’

* Text Fwd from Steve Zeltzer on Feb. 4, 2011

Korean KBS, MBC and SBS media unions unanimously oppose ‘Dialogue with the President’ : The program has drawn fire for being entirely planned by the Cheong Wa Dae
Kim Jeong-pil
Posted on : Jan.31,2011 11:36 KST　
　　

The unions of the three terrestrial broadcast companies are unanimously demanding the cancellation of President Lee Myung-bak’s televised discussion with the nation, scheduled for Tuesday. Their decision to show unanimous opposition has strengthened protest against the televised program, “Dialogue with the President.”

With the union chairs and leaders in attendance, the unions of KBS, MBC and SBS decided to hold a press conference and demonstration in front of the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) on Monday afternoon.

“If the broadcast companies simply broadcast live content featuring and planned by Cheong Wa Dae, the broadcast companies will becoming loudspeakers for those in power,” said New KBS Union Chairman Eom Gyeong-cheol on Sunday. “This is a direct instance that illustrates the extent to which the Cheong Wa Dae’s view of the media has become distorted.”

“The Cheong Wa Dae has violated the sole authority of the broadcast companies, and by accepting this, the broadcast companies have placed their own independence in serious danger,” said SungKongHoe University Professor Kim Seo-jung. “The decision by all three stations to simultaneously broadcast the president’s address on the morning before an extended holiday has violated the public’s right to decide what to watch.”

Semyung University Professor Jeong Yeon-woo said, “Communication between the president and the public remains severed with the president focused only on conveying and promoting his own declarations, like in this closed televised address.”

The criticism of the president’s coming address is the accumulated result of Cheong Wa Dae’s consistent decision to remain silent about matters disadvantageous to its leaders while giving a live broadcast with the president on any matter, foreign or domestic, that promotes his public relations. During his addresses during his first year in 2008 - an April 13 address on his visits to the United States and Japan and a June 19 address on the beef imports issue - he also discussed inter-Korean relations, cabinet reshuffles and other issues.


His four press conferences after that (excluding conferences after bilateral summits) were all promotional. Three of these were about the G-20 summit (Sept. 30, 2009, Nov. 3, 2010 and Nov. 12, 2010), and one was a press conference from Abu Dhabi about South Korea’s successful bid to build nuclear reactors in the UAE. Immediately after the successful rescue of the crew of the Samho Jewelry on Jan. 21, Lee stood in front of the camera to break the news.

On the other hand, Lee has remained quiet about contentious issues. During his September 2009 press conference on drawing the G-20 to Seoul, he excluded speaking on all other issues, and did not mention the revisions to the Sejong City Development Plan, the major pending issue of the day. In the November press conference on the G-20, there was just one question about the illegal surveillance issue, but Lee avoided answering it.

In response to criticism about the unilateralism of the coming Feb. 1 broadcast, Cheong Wa Dae officials said Sunday, “President Lee wants to take any questions the panelists, Hallym Institute of Advanced International Studies professor Jeong Gwan-yong and SBS anchor Han Su-jin, wish to ask.” They asked that people watch the actual broadcast and decide if it was all planned out in advance.