(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on June 20)

MBC controversy

Prosecutors indicted five MBC personnel Thursday on charges of defaming
government officials and obstructing the business of U.S. beef importers by
producing an investigative report critical of the administration's decision to
resume U.S. beef imports last year. With the broadcaster vehemently opposing the
charges, the ensuing court battle is guaranteed to be heated.

The "PD Notepad" episode on mad-cow disease which aired in April 2008 is widely
seen as having sparked months-long candlelight protests against the resumption of
U.S. beef imports. Korea was one of the biggest markets for U.S. beef before the
country halted U.S. beef shipments in 2003 upon the discovery of mad cow disease
in American cows.
The protests led to President Lee Myung-bak offering apologies on two occasions
and renegotiations on details of the beef import agreement. The Ministry for
Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries filed a complaint with the Supreme
Public Prosecutors' Office, which led to the year-long investigation that
resulted in the indictment of four producers and a scriptwriter.
The prosecutors said that the MBC staff deliberately produced a biased report on
the safety of U.S. beef and mad cow disease and thus defamed then Agriculture
Minister Chung Woon-chun and Min Dong-seok, chief negotiator of the U.S. beef
import deal.
While the producers of the program aired an apology last July, admitting to
having mistranslated parts of an interview conducted with an American supposedly
diagnosed with the human form of mad cow disease, they deny the prosecutors'
charge that they "deliberately" exaggerated or distorted the facts. The producers
of the program called the indictment an "act of suppression against media freedom
and democracy."
There is no doubt that the program did not just report the facts. It would be
difficult to claim mistranslations of some 30 scenes, as found by the
prosecutors, as honest mistakes. The prosecutors also found that the program
omitted crucial facts about the scenes and gave false information. "Distortion of
facts cannot be protected by law," the prosecutors said.
On Thursday, the prosecutors made public e-mails sent by scriptwriter Kim
Eun-hee. The prosecutors said that the e-mails demonstrate that Kim had malicious
intentions and sought out targets for investigation. Some of the e-mails mention
Rep. Hong Jung-wook of the Grand National Party as being a target of extensive
investigation by the same program. An e-mail dated April 18, 2008 said, "We
looked for ways to vent our anger against the results of the general elections
while deciding on the item for 'PD Notepad.' We conducted an investigation into
Hong Jung-wook like mad. We searched for possible tip-offs. However, we don't
always do targeted broadcasts." But the team was unable to turn up anything
against Hong, Kim later wrote.
Commenting on the e-mail revelation, Hong said, "I hope this incident becomes an
opportunity for PD journalism to return to normalcy."
(END)