Friday, August 17, 2007

[The Chosun Ilbo, August 16 2007] Trying to Keep the Public Deaf and Blind

At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the government authorized the hiring of 14 people whose job is to keep journalists out of government ministries and other agencies. They will be posted at the government complexes in Sejongro, Seoul, Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province and Daejeon. The Cabinet meeting is the country’s highest forum of consultation, yet it is reduced to handling something as trivial as the hiring of bouncers. Korea has become a global laughing stock.

...

Blocking media access is like trying to cover the eyes and ears of the public. It stops the cycle of monitoring and criticizing government operations, eliminating the opportunity to rectify unlawful and corrupt actions by the government. The ultimate victims are the taxpayers, who lose a window through which they can monitor the government.

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