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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 SEOUL 000982 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; June 19, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo, All TVs 
"(Public's Power) has Cut Political Lifeline of 100-day Old 
Administration... Anger over Lee Myung-bak is 
at Its Peak" Prosecutors Disclose Emails Written 
by MBC "PD Diary" Scriptwriter 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Samsung Electronics' Price-Earnings Ratio (PER) Outstrips Nokia's 
PER for First Time in Eight Years 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
MBC's "PD Diary" Production Staffers Indicted for Controversial Mad 
Cow Disease Episode; Prosecution Raises Possibility of "Political 
Intention" behind Their Reporting 
 
Hankook Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun 
Prosecutors Accuse "PD Diary" of 30 Cases of Distortion in Reporting 
on Mad Cow Disease... Controversy Erupts over "Freedom of 
Expression" 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
MBC Staffers Indicted over Mad Cow Report... 
"Tenacious Crackdown on Critical Media" 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
President Lee Myung-bak, in a June 17 meeting in Washington with 
former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and other experts, 
said that the cooperation of China and Russia is crucial in 
persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. (Chosun, 
Hankook, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul) 
 
The two Koreas are to meet today for a third round of 
government-level talks on the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the 
North. (All) Since Seoul is apparently considering closing the joint 
industrial complex if Pyongyang continues its exorbitant demands for 
higher wages for North Korean employees and more money for the 
lease, today's meeting is likely to become a watershed in deciding 
the fate of the complex. (Chosun) 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
 
According to the June 18 issue of The Washington Post citing a 
senior North Korean defector, North Korea has collected hundreds of 
millions of dollars from some of the world's largest insurance 
companies on large and suspicious claims for transportation 
accidents, factory fires, and other alleged disasters. (Chosun, 
JoongAng, Segye, Seoul) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-North Korea 
-------------- 
 
Most ROK media quoted President Lee Myung-bak as saying in a June 17 
meeting in Washington with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry 
Kissinger and other experts: "The cooperation of China and Russia is 
crucial in persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear 
ambitions." 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo gave front-page play to a June 18 report by 
a sister paper of the Chinese Communist Party's official People's 
Daily that the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is rapidly 
 
SEOUL 00000982  002 OF 006 
 
 
deteriorating, prompting the hasty decision to name his third son, 
Kim Jong-un, as heir apparent. 
 
Chosun, in a related development, quoted a North Korean source in 
Beijing: "Beijing-based North Korean officials from Ponghwa 
Hospital, where Kim's illness is being treated, are looking to 
import expensive medical equipment, which has been banned since the 
North conducted its first nuclear test in 2006.  Pyongyang is also 
seeking to import an emergency helicopter from overseas.  Kim seems 
to be in serious condition." 
 
Most media also gave attention to a June 18 report by Japan's 
Yomiuri Shimbun citing an analysis by the Japanese Defense Ministry 
that North Korea may fire a long-range ballistic missile from its 
Dongchang-ri site, on the northwestern coast, toward Hawaii between 
July 4 and 8. 
 
-Iran 
------ 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo led its international news section with a 
report on six straight days of street protests in Iran over the 
disputed presidential election result.  Chosun wrote in the 
headline: "Will an Iranian Version of the Tiananmen Incident 
Occur?... This Weekend Likely to Be a Watershed (in the Iranian 
Situation)" 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo, meanwhile, in a report titled "Will 
Second Revolution Occur in Iran?," noted that young reform-minded 
forces are leading the protests in defiance of the ruling circles' 
30-year-long  iron-fisted rule over the nation. 
 
U.S. Financial Regulations 
Moderate Hankook Ilbo commented in an editorial: "The Obama plan is 
a step in the right direction because it focused on overhauling a 
'culture of irresponsibility on Wall Street.' ... In order not to 
repeat the mistake of 'locking the stable door after the horse has 
bolted,' enhanced financial regulations are indispensable." 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
------------------- 
 
MBC STAFFERS INDICTED OVER MAD COW REPORT 
(Hankook Ilbo, June 19, 2009, Page 35) 
 
Prosecutors indicted five staff members of the MBC program "PD 
Diary" on charges of defamation (of the former agriculture minister) 
and disruption (of U.S. beef sellers' business).  Prosecutors 
concluded that the program intentionally distorted and exaggerated 
the danger of U.S. beef through mistranslations, translation 
omissions, the distortion or omission of objective facts, 
far-fetched conclusions, and scene editing. 
 
It is evident that PD Diary did not give a "fact-based" report on 
the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) risks of U.S. beef.  The 
program neglected its duty as a public broadcaster while 
embellishing the report to suit the purpose of the program, rather 
than delivering the facts as they are.  As a good example, despite 
experts' divergent views, the program reported that all downer cows 
are infected with BSE and that Aretha Vinson died of variant 
Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease (vCJD).  Considering that the Seoul High 
Court also ruled that PD Diary should correct four additional 
statements of the report and air statements (which illustrate the 
divergence of opinion among experts), we can only conclude that the 
PD Diary's report was lacking in the objectivity, fairness and sense 
of balance which any media report is supposed to have. 
 
The producers claim that there were some mistakes in translation. 
Based on the investigation results, their claims mean that the PD 
Diary program directors made mistakes in as many as 30 scenes.  It 
is doubtful whether they could make such numerous errors in one 
program. 
 
However, (despite the numerous mistakes) the prosecutor's (charge) 
 
SEOUL 00000982  003 OF 006 
 
 
that the staffers defamed the former agriculture minister is not 
convincing, even though the report was not factual. 
The program did not intend to defame former Agriculture Minister, 
Chung Woon-chun.  Moreover, it is not easy to directly relate the PD 
Diary episode to damages done to importers of U.S. beef.  We should 
bear in mind that when a critical report about the government sparks 
social controversy, freedom of the media can suffer if the 
government tries to settle the issue only with the rule of law.  We 
will wait for the decision of the court and watch closely to see 
(whether) MBC will air corrections. 
 
 
MBC CAN LEARN FROM MISTAKES 
(JoongAng Ilbo, June 19, 2009, page 42) 
 
Prosecutors yesterday indicted - without physical detention - five 
staff members associated with the MBC program "PD Diary" on charges 
of defamation related to an episode of the show that aired in April 
of last year on the safety of U.S. beef. 
 
Prosecutors claim the broadcaster intentionally distorted or 
embellished 30 key scenes and defamed a former cabinet minister and 
other plaintiffs. 
 
On Wednesday, following a complaint from the Ministry for Food, 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Seoul High Court ordered 
MBC to air corrections related to the episode. 
 
The court also ruled that the program's claim that the ROK 
government would be helpless to stop the spread of the human form of 
mad cow disease here if it broke out in the U.S. was "false 
information." 
 
In a previous ruling, the court said that MBC didn't need to run 
corrections on that particular bit of reporting. 
 
It's fortunate that the truth is emerging about PD Diary's reporting 
on mad cow disease, which has been the subject of numerous 
investigations and court rulings.  But judging from the relatively 
low level of punishment meted out so far, we also feel the limits of 
the current law. 
 
After the program in question aired 14 months ago, the nation sunk 
into a deep morass.  It showed that a democratic system can be 
shaken at its roots when a terrestrial broadcaster abuses its power 
for its own interests. 
 
Prosecutors have just begun to uncover the entire truth about these 
reports. 
 
The original tape of the program, which is needed to determine what 
really happened and why, has not been made available because of 
MBC's opposition. 
 
The prosecution shouldn't think that placing criminal liability on a 
few people is enough.  They have to do their utmost to reveal the 
truth, and honor the public's right to know what happened during 
trials. 
 
MBC must now accept the court's judgments, apologize to the people 
and lead efforts to uncover the truth. 
 
Top executives at the British broadcaster, BBC, resigned when the 
network's 2003 reporting on the war in Iraq turned out to be false. 
It wasn't because they were afraid of lawsuits but because they felt 
a heavy responsibility as employees of a public broadcaster. 
 
MBC also should assume responsibility for its own incorrect 
reporting and strive for fair and balanced journalism in the future. 
 
 
We expect MBC to take this opportunity to transform itself into a 
true public broadcaster.  For we, along with the public, will keep a 
close eye on the network's future endeavors. 
 
SEOUL 00000982  004 OF 006 
 
 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
CUTTING THE ADMINISTRATION'S LIFELINE? 
(Dong-a Ilbo, June 19, 2009, page 31) 
 
"Ms. Kim, how do you feel seeing this for yourself?  Do you see what 
you've done?  Are you satisfied now?  Ha, ha," said the producer of 
the MBC investigative news show, "PD Notebook," Kim Bo-seul to the 
show's writer Kim Eun-hee. 
 
"I feel uneasy as the power of the public - the power which cut the 
political lifeline of the 100-day old administration, the power 
which cracked the indomitable castle of the Dong-A (Ilbo), Chosun 
(Ilbo), and JoongAng Ilbo, and the power which achieved things that 
no media or group did before - seems to be disappearing," Kim 
(Eun-hee) wrote this in an e-mail message sent to her acquaintance. 
 
 
PD Notebook is a program that disrupted Korean society last year by 
exaggerating and distorting the risks of the human version of mad 
cow disease.  The two messages were sent by both the producer and 
writer of the show in late June last year, when illegal violent 
protests erupted against U.S. beef imports. 
 
Prosecutors announced the results of their investigation into the 
factual distortion case involving the MBC show.  One of Kim's e-mail 
messages that was disclosed said, "I worked fanatically right after 
the presidential election, when I hated Lee Myung-bak the most." 
This shows that the show's episode on mad cow disease (was premised 
on) a political agenda to upend the newly inaugurated Lee 
Administration. 
 
The probe concluded that the program distorted 30 facts and four 
producers and one writer were indicted without detention.  Though 
prosecutors applied charges of defamation and interference in 
business, the national and social losses incurred by the program's 
lies are tremendous.  Protests against U.S. beef imports instigated 
by PD Notebook continued for more than three months, leaving Seoul 
in chaos, tainting the country's image abroad, and negatively 
impacting the economy. 
 
The program's production staff escaped a subpoena by crying 
suppression of the media, and blocked the execution of a raid and 
arrest warrant.  Uncovering the truth behind the scandal lies in the 
hands of the judiciary.  The show's producers dared to distort and 
exaggerate facts for ideological and political purposes and must 
face justice. 
 
The producers claim that politically minded prosecutors suppressed 
freedom of speech, a democratic principle.  In a lawsuit filed by 
the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry demanding that the 
show air a follow-up program after issuing a correction, the Seoul 
High Court ruled that the program should air a revised program after 
adding two more facts to the previous ruling.  The ruling showed 
that the program purposely distorted facts while violating the basic 
code of ethics.  Despite the ruling, the program (production staff) 
remains belligerent and continues to (rally behind a claim of) 
freedom of speech.  The MBC executive board is not free from blame 
since it failed to hold the producers accountable for almost a year 
after the program was aired. 
 
MBC's role in political scandals is nothing new.  The station was 
involved in the smear campaign against Grand National Party 
candidate Lee Hoi-chang before the 2002 presidential election, the 
2004 impeachment of former President Roh Moo-hyun, and the 2007 BBK 
scandal that sought to taint Lee Myung-bak's presidential candidacy. 
 MBC's union took power when the left-wing government (of the late 
1990s and early 2000s) took office, and the network's structural 
problems encouraged a biased and distorted PD Notebook.  Serious 
discussion is necessary to correct the situation in which groups 
with biased ideology sway the media. 
 
SEOUL 00000982  005 OF 006 
 
 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
VIOLENCE AGAINST FREE PRESS CLOAKED AS LAW 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, June 19, 2009, page 23) 
 
Yesterday, prosecutors indicted five producers and writers from the 
MBC program "PD Notebook" for defamation and disruption of 
operations. 
 
The investigative report in question was broadcast April 29, 2008 
and warned of the dangers of mad cow disease, urging the ROK 
government to carefully consider its decision regarding relaxing 
sanitary regulations on U.S. beef imports.  The episode aired 
criticism of government policy and represented an expression of 
opinion falling under constitutionally protected freedoms of press 
and speech; however, prosecutors are pursuing charges of defamation 
against the show's producers.  This is a clear case of media 
suppression with a total disregard for the Constitution.  While all 
of society is of one voice in expressing concern about democracy's 
regression, it appears the administration is once again blatantly 
pushing it backwards. 
 
The public prosecutor's office is likely aware that it is a stretch 
to investigate and indict producers of the PD Notebook.  It has been 
said the investigation team that first took on the case cleared the 
producers of any suspicions.  The chief prosecutor in charge 
ultimately handed in his resignation over the matter after 
protesting the order to conduct the investigation. Still, the public 
prosecutor's office pressed the matter, and replaced the entire 
investigative team (with a team) that finally presented the exact 
opposite conclusion of the first team a few months later.  It is 
clear that there is no other explanation for this outcome other than 
to say this is a politically motivated investigation meant to deal a 
blow to the popular spirit of the candlelight vigil demonstrations 
and to gain a measure of retribution.  It is for this reason that 
prosecutors are being popularly criticized for being "investigators 
for hire." 
 
The prosecutors have presented exceedingly shoddy reasoning; 
especially, first and foremost, using the idea that an investigative 
report critical of government policy defames the public official 
responsible for setting the policy.  Criticizing and checking the 
government is the essential role of the press and a core press 
freedom.  If the press is to perform this function, it is assumed 
that it should criticize policy carried out by public officials. If, 
as the prosecutors are claiming, reporting on problems in the 
negotiations regarding U.S. beef imports are "obviously nothing 
short of a criticism of the Agricultural Minister, whose office 
presided over the negotiations," any critical reporting becomes 
impossible.  Presenting this sort of fallacious logic is a form of 
violence.  If this logic is applied, media critical of the 
administration are subject to investigation and prosecution at any 
time.  It is plain as day that this will result in the curtailment 
of the press. 
 
The ROK's courts have been expressing the view that restrictions on 
press freedoms with regard to public officials and issues of public 
interest should be relaxed.  They are also of the view that even a 
report for the public benefit that contains some degree of 
exaggeration or error is difficult to recognize as a violation of 
the law if the information is trustworthy enough for the reporters 
to believe in its truth.  Yet prosecutors are taking a few errors in 
translation, editing issues, and misunderstandings about the issue 
as a reason to charge the producers PD Notebook as if they presented 
an entirely distorted report.  Prosecutor's determination to find 
fault has given rise to suspicions that the motivation behind the 
investigation is unrelated to the proof available that supports the 
criminal charges being pressed against the producers 
 
In the Park Yeon-cha case, prosecutors disclosed personal 
information or excessive details about the charges to the press and 
 
SEOUL 00000982  006 OF 006 
 
 
received heavy criticism about this. Instead of reflecting over 
these tactics, however, they went and engaged in the same kind of 
behavior for this case.  However, in this situation, despite 
disclosure of personal e-mail contents and statements from one of 
the writers, which were referenced as "materials from which an 
intent to distort can be surmised," prosecutors have been utterly 
unable to shed light on how such private ideas and personal 
correspondences might have actually affected the production of the 
program.  The Korean Central Intelligence Agency, the predecessor to 
the National Intelligence Service, sought to use the National 
Security Law to punish the democratization movement and employed 
similar methods. 
 
In addition, the prosecutors have been unable to show a direct 
causal relationship between the PD Notebook report and the damages 
claimed by importers of U.S. beef, which can be expected in a 
made-to-order contract investigation.  It is questionable whether 
the public prosecutors' office can even talk about pride as a 
judicial organization following this kind of behavior.  It is clear 
that this indictment against PD Notebook is aiming to issue a 
warning that all reports critical of the government will be shut off 
at the source.  This is what a dictatorship looks like, and must be 
brought to an immediate stop. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
PD DIARY'S SCRIPTWRITER'S EMAILS DISCLOSED BY PROSECUTORS 
(Chosun Ilbo, June 19, 2009, Page 31) 
 
The e-mails of PD Diary's scriptwriter Kim Eun-hee, which were 
disclosed on June 18 by prosecutors, clearly revealed that there 
were political motives behind PD Diary's episode on the Bovine 
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) risk of U.S. beef, a report that 
created fear and panic among many Koreans and drove them into the 
streets (to protest) a year ago. 
 
The reason why the producers of PD Diary did not hesitate to make 
preposterous distortions was plainly revealed in scriptwriter Kim's 
e-mails.  Although they publicly said that they sought to protect 
the people's right to know, and their health, the real purpose was 
to disturb and topple the government that they opposed. 
Nevertheless, the producers of PD Diary argued that the prosecutors' 
investigation is a "suppression of media freedom."  After creating 
social chaos and serious division by fabricating and distorting 
facts, they are now saying something to the effect of, "Since we 
simply exercised the freedom of the media, it is wrong to make an 
issue of it."  The freedom of the media, guaranteed by the 
Constitution, does not apply to malicious instigation, fabrication, 
and irresponsible behavior. 
 
It has been more than one year since the PD Diary episode in 
question was aired.  However, to date MBC has not taken steps to 
examine the truth and hold anyone responsible.  The broadcasting 
company only tried to cover up (the truth) after holding emergency 
meetings.  MBC is an organization that has long been unable to 
rectify its own wrongdoings. 
 
 
STANTON