4
Choi Young-hun, assistant editor of the Dong-A Ilbo’s Foreign News Desk, stated in his Oct. 3,
2001, e-mail to the author: “When politicians, prosecutors, police officers, and high-ranking government
officials bring libel cases against the press and journalists for stories, the news media lose almost all the
time.” While damage awards are somewhat reduced on appeal, Choi continued, the court judgments
against the media create a worrisome environment in which the press will be considerably discouraged in
its role to scrutinize the powers that be. He revealed that many working journalists agonize over whether
their “hazardous news reporting” is worth all the time and trouble it takes.
The possible “abuse of libel law” against the Korean press has attracted the attention of the U.S.
government and the United Nations, among others. The U.S. State Department’s human rights report on
South Korea, stating that “in the past some journalists have been arrested and jailed for libel,” took
special note of Korean journalists’ claim that libel laws are used as an instrument to harass media
organizations for true but “unflattering” articles.
20
Likewise, Abid Hussain, the special rapporteur of the U.N. Economic and Social Council’s
Commission on Human Rights, expressed concern over the possible chilling impact of libel litigation on
the Korean news media. Aware of cases in which libel suits resulted in the arrest of journalists who were
critical in reporting on the Korean government as well as the imposition of fines as a punishment for
unfavorable news stories, he stated:
These fines are reportedly of an amount that could threaten the survival of the press and
media institutions concerned. In a democratic society, government institutions should be
open and responsive to all criticism, even when at times it is critical of personalities. The
function of the press as a public watchdog and the right of the public to be informed are
of great importance. They should not suffer from a climate in which the press and media
fear the consequences of their statements delivered in good faith and in the interest of the
public.
21
The amount of monetary award for libel has increased tremendously, according to Choi Young-
hun of the Dong-A Ilbo in Seoul. Nonetheless, the award of monetary damages against the media rarely
affect reporters and editors directly in terms of their out-of-pocket loss. Choi argued that reporters suffer
from considerable anxiety because they can be subject to their employers’ claim of reimbursement for
financial loss. More frequently, Choi contended, reporters suffer from an immeasurable amount of
emotional distress out of their internal soul searching in accounting for their news reporting and writing
once they are embroiled in libel litigation.
22
The Civil and Criminal codes, as noted above, are a principal source of law for the Korean press
in that they protect individuals from defamatory statements. American lawyers Jeremy Feigelson and
Convention