AsiaMedia :: KOREA: Naver suspected of censorship

AsiaMedia :: KOREA: Naver suspected of censorship:

"Naver, one of the most popular web portals in Korea, accused of 'meddling in its news service,' downplaying Samsung's slush fund scandal and endorsing Grand National Party presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak

The Korea Times Monday,
November 5, 2007
By Cho Jin-seo

Online portal sites' neutrality as news media is once again being questioned after Naver, the largest portal site, was accused of favoring or disfavoring one side in dealing with certain political and social issues. The largest Web portal site has continuously proclaimed that it does not have any editorial preference in selecting and displaying news articles which are provided by newspapers, magazines and TV and radio broadcasters, and thus it does not carry any legal responsibility. But many Internet users have been questioning this, saying Naver has deliberately played down certain issues such as the ongoing scandal regarding the Samsung Group's slush fund. Many bloggers have insisted that during last weekend Naver ran the Samsung stories to a lesser degree than other portal sites, such as Daum. They also pointed out that Naver's news editors noted Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee simply as 'chairman' in its top page headline without mentioning his name, which is unusual in other news headlines. 'It is a desperate situation,' a blogger named mygreatkim said. 'Portals have occupied the role of media, such as setting agendas and making it a public matter. But they are not the media. They do not have the spirit of journalism.'"