hankyoreh

South Korean journalists who cover the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade work in the lobby of the MOFAT building at Sejongro, central Seoul on October 23, after they were evicted from the press room located inside the building. The journalists have refused to accept the government’s decision to move the press room to a new consolidated briefing room, arguing that the move is aimed at blocking free access to government sources and infringes upon the people’s right to know. The new briefing room system has been initiated and engineered by the National Information Agency.

Since the new briefing format was implemented on October 12, the agency shut down all press rooms situated in government organizations and demanded that journalists move to the new briefing rooms, which were set up in separate locations. Journalists, however, have challenged the government’s demands, calling for the new system to be rolled back. Since then, journalists have been working in the lobbies of the relevant government organizations which they cover.

Photo by Kim Jon-soo/The Hankyoreh.