hankyoreh

In the morning of June 29, citizens who participated in a candlelight protest the night before clean the street of debris.

Conservative newspapers like The Chosun Ilbo are garnering criticism for not publishing images like these and focusing instead on violent acts committed by protesters. They have also been criticized for downplaying acts of violence committed by conservative groups and the police, though police have grown increasingly violent in their suppression of the demonstrations.

On June 23, a story on The Chosun Ilbo’s front page was titled “Demonstrators violate the law” and a story in the June 27 edition criticized President Lee Myung-bak for not having taken enough steps to quell the demonstrations.

Experts have criticized this approach as empty and say that The Chosun Ilbo seems to have forgotten the reasons behind the candlelight protests in its coverage of related events.