hankyoreh

A committee consisting of former Dong-A Ilbo journalists that were fired fighting to defend the freedom of the press against the authoritarian government in 1974 was selected as the winner of the 5th Song Geon-ho Press Awards.

The awards were established in 2002 to remember the late Song Geon-ho, who worked as a journalist for about 40 years and served as the first president of The Hankyoreh when it was founded in 1988.

Jeong Dong-ik, 63, chairman of the committee said, "The award represents a request that we acknowledge the 31-year history of the committee and once again rally for the freedom of the press."

"The committee members took the initiative to strive for a free press under suppression of freedom of speech, and even after being fired, they have made a contribution to the democratization of society and haven't flagged in defending freedom of speech,'' said the judging committee.

The Dong-A committee was brought into being as the result of an event that took place on March 18, 1975, when the Park Chung-hee regime was repressing freedom of speech. At the time, about 130 journalists who were staging a sit-in at the Dong-A Ilbo building in Gwanghwamun, downtown Seoul, along with producers of the former Dong-A Broadcasting System, were fired by management, which was in collusion with the government. The fired reporters formed the committee right there on the streets of Seoul.

Prior to this, reporters of Dong-A Ilbo had announced their pursuit of a free press on October 24, 1974 and fought against government interference.

There was virtually nobody who thought this group would continue to be involved in journalism for over three decades. However, members of the committee are still active, meeting once a month, and according to the committee, there is much still to be done. As chairman Jeong said, "Out of the demands that the committee presented at the time of its launch, nothing has been achieved.''

The committee has spearheaded the suggestion of special bills regarding the suppression of speech, as well as proposed a fact-finding investigation regarding past governmental abuses, but the bills were disregarded by the National Assembly. The committee plans to prepare a revised version next year.

On every anniversary of the committee's foundation, its members have staged a sit-in before the Dong-A Ilbo building, but the newspaper has refused to comment on the reporters' dismissal, even three decades after the fact. The committee even met with Kim Hak-joon, the publisher of the Dong-A Ilbo, and urged him to repair relations with the committee. The newspaper has cited the illness of its owner, Kim Byeong-gwan, as the reason it has not addressed the committee's concerns.