The financial transaction between Shin Shin-lim, former chairman of the media union, and Kim Man-bae, former head of Money Today’s legal team, is a serious issue that violates journalistic ethics as it undermines the neutrality of the value of information, independent of judicial judgment. Newstapa omits and edits some of Kim Man-bae’s remarks, and highlights the possibility of Prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol’s ‘clearance of the investigation’, which is also subject to criticism. However, the government and ruling party’s ‘all-out offensive’ against Newstapa from the 4th to the 8th cannot be taken lightly in that it blatantly revealed an unconstitutional attempt to silence critical media by maximizing the impact of this incident. .

Last day was Friday. JTBC said, “The prosecution has begun an investigation after discovering circumstances in which Mr. Kim Man-bae, the majority shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, provided money and valuables to former Chairman Shin Shin-lim in return for a false interview during the last presidential election. The 3rd Department of the Anti-Corruption Investigation of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has been investigating former Chairman Shin’s home since this morning. We are conducting a search and seizure of the department’s office, etc.,” an exclusive report said. On the 2nd, the Chosun Ilbo said in an editorial titled <False interview showing the true face of the press union and the price of three books is 160 million won>, “The behavior of Mr. Shin and Newstapa is such that it cannot be called a media outlet,” and “At this level, it is the vanguard of some force.” “I have no choice but to express it,” he wrote.

The 4th, which was Monday. Chairman Lee Dong-kwan of the Korea Communications Commission argued in the National Assembly that the so-called ‘false interview by prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol to cover up the investigation of Busan Savings Bank’ was “not just fake news, but a serious crime and an act of disturbing the national flag.” On the same day, Jang Je-won, chairman of the National Assembly’s Oversight and Defense Committee, known as ‘Yoon Haek-gwan’, targeted Newstapa and argued, “We need to think about closing the publication. We need to get rid of it.” Morning of the 5th. The President’s Office issued a highly unusual statement from a high-ranking official, characterizing the incident by saying, “The false interview of Kim Man-bae and Shin Hak-rim was a rare case of political manipulation in a presidential election.” At the same time, the Korea Communications Standards Commission announced an emergency review of the broadcast report that cited the Newstapa report.

6th. Government departments began to move. The Korea Communications Commission announced that it would launch a ‘fake news eradication task force’ and that “we plan to conduct a thorough review and take action in the broadcasting and communication sectors where measures against fake news are insufficient.” At the same time, he announced, “We will initiate complementary legislation, such as an ‘integrated deliberation law system’ that allows ‘one strike out’ when malicious false information due to intentional or gross negligence is spread using broadcasting and communication networks.” On the same day, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it would launch a ‘ Fake News Combating TF’ and that “We will look into whether there are any violations of the Newspaper Act in the content and process of Newstapa’s reporting, and cooperate with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the local government where Newstapa is registered.”

7 days. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that if Newstapa’s violation of the Newspaper Act is confirmed, it will actively consider issuing an order to suspend publication within six months through the Registration Cancellation Deliberation Committee or applying to the court for a judgment to cancel the newspaper’s registration. On the same day, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, “We have confirmed that Newstapa is not participating in the autonomous deliberation of the Internet Newspaper Committee,” and added, “We will pursue a plan to support only participating media companies in the Press Promotion Fund contest from now on.” The Korea Communications Commission suddenly announced, “ We will inspect the status of the fact check verification system of KBS, MBC , and JTBC and reflect it in the review for relicensing and reapproval.” These are all broadcasters that cited Newstapa’s reporting during the presidential election.

They even disclosed their real names and filed a complaint against one former reporter (current Newstapa reporter) and four MBC reporters. The prosecution established a ‘special investigation team for the manipulation of public opinion intervention in the presidential election’. It consists of about 10 prosecutors and includes the Anti-Corruption Department 3, a special investigation department, the Criminal Department 1, dedicated to defamation, and the Public Investigation Department dedicated to elections. KBS reported, “We have formed an unusually large investigation team, and the intention is to expand the scope of the investigation to include not only Newstapa and JTBC , which are already under investigation, but also other media companies.” Eventually, People Power Party leader Kim Ki-hyun said harshly about the Newstapa report that day, calling it “a crime of national treason worthy of the death penalty.”

Meanwhile, Man-Bae Kim, who was being imprisoned on suspicion of preferential treatment for the development of Daejang-dong, left the Seoul Detention Center shortly after midnight on the 7th after his detention period expired. When asked by reporters whether he had any intention of changing the direction of the presidential election through the interview, he replied, “I’m not a very capable person,” and in the case of 160 million won, he said, “I bought the book because I thought it was worth that much.” . At around 10 a.m. on the same day, former Chairman Shin Shin-lim appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of breach of trust and violation of the Anti-Corruption Act and returned home early on the 8th after being interrogated메이저사이트 by the prosecution for over 14 hours.

8th. Yoo Sang-beom, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, said, “The people do not believe that this enormous manipulation incident was accomplished by the conspiracy of just Mr. Kim and Mr. Shin. This time too, the truth is directed at Representative Lee Jae-myung,” and claimed, “He is the mastermind of the presidential election operation.” ‘, pointing to the Democratic Party. People Power Party lawmaker Park Seong-joong said, “Newstapa, the host of fake news, was found to have violated the corporate tax law, which requires donations to be used for the intended purpose,” and added, “We should even consider canceling the corporation.” In addition, he said, “There appears to be a possibility of illegality and expediency in partnering with extreme left-leaning media companies such as Newstapa for Naver content,” and demanded an investigation by related organizations such as Naver. He then told Newstapa to “report the closure of its business on its own.”

On the same day, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said, “If the extremely biased media systematically spread false news a few days before the vote, and if it was intended to push a specific candidate, then of course it is a serious crime.” This was a part that could be seen as presenting investigative guidelines to the prosecution. Chairman Lee Dong-kwan of the Korea Communications Commission said in a question to the government at the National Assembly, “Newstapa cannot be said to be the media we think of. That’s why we use the expression pseudo-media. It is normal to see a place like this as close to an institution that represents the partisan interests of a specific camp.” He said. At the same time, he said, “I use the expression ‘media’ because I don’t have the right terminology, but the pseudo-media needs to be reorganized.”Newstapa, an investigative journalism center that started with in-depth reports on Daejangdong and Deutsche Motors, and recently began reporting on the prosecution’s special activity expenses, is like this: vanguard of a certain faction → act of disturbing the national flag → rare presidential election political maneuver → treason against the state punishable by death → host of fake news → similar media All of this happened in just one week. Six media organizations, including the Journalists Association of Korea, the Korea PD Association, and the Broadcasting Journalists Association, said, “Violations of reporting ethics and journalistic responsibilities surrounding interviews are issues that need to be corrected through deep reflection and evaluation. However, under the pretext of this, the specter of media control by a dictatorial regime is being raised . ” He warned, “Political conspiracies aimed at reviving the media and justifying the suppression of the press will definitely be judged by the public.”