hankyoreh

The Hankyoreh is considered the most reliable media outlet by journalists in the nation, according to the results of a survey conducted by Hangil Research & Consulting at the request of the Journalists Association of Korea upon the 43rd anniversary of its founding. The survey involved asking 300 reporters across the nation their opinion on current issues.

Of the journalists surveyed, 15 percent said The Hankyoreh was the nation’s most trusted media company. It was followed by KBS (12.3 percent), MBC (5.0 percent), The Kyunghyang Shinmun (5.0 percent), The Chosun Ilbo (4.0 percent), The JoongAng Ilbo (3.7 percent), Yonhap News Agency (3.3 percent), and The Dong-A Ilbo (2.0 percent). Remaining media companies posted less than 1 percent.

Asked what was the most influential media outlet in the nation, the respondents said KBS (32.0 percent) follwed by the Chosun Ilbo (31.7 percent) was put on the second place, followed by MBC (8.0 percent), The JoongAng Ilbo (2.7 percent), Yonhap News Agency (2.3 percent). Other companies got less than 1 percent. The journalists polled were asked not to name their own company when responding.

81.3 percent of respondents called the presidential office’s handling of publicity and news reports inappropriate, with only 16.7 percent saying it was appropriate. The remaining 2 percent of those surveyed did not fall under either category.

As for the free trade agreement being negotiated between South Korea and the U.S., 68 percent said that it would have a negative impact on South Korea, whereas 23.6 percent said it would have a positive one.

Asked to name the presidential candidate most appropriate for Korea’s development and the protection of freedom of speech, Son Hak-kyu, former governor of Gyeonggi Province, ranked at the top with 18.3 percent of the journalists’ vote, followed by Rep. Kwon Young-ghil (12.0 percent) of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), Uri Party chairman Kim Geun-tae (11.0 percent), former prime minister Goh Kun (9.7 percent), and former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percent.