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846 pardons will be granted for Liberation Day at the Government Complex in Gwacheon on August 12. Critics say that pardons granted for newspaper executives in particular will likely ensure a closer relationship between the government and the media.

Critics of President Lee Myung-bak’s decision to pardon convicted executives from the three major conservative newspapers have characterized the move as a symbolic step toward a “new era of cozy ties between the government and media.” It was announced on August 12 that more than 340,000 convicted businesspeople will be pardoned on Liberation Day, August 15.

The critics say that compared with the presidential pardons for convicted businesspeople, made to “save the economy,” the pardons to be granted to the conservative media executives, including the Chosun Ilbo President Bang Sang-hoon and executives from the JoongAng Ilbo and the DongA Ilbo, are unjustified because none of the executives have apologized for their crimes, yet seem to have contempt for the prosecutors and judges that convicted them. The newspaper executives were all convicted of large-scale tax evasion.

Some media scholars also said the pardons to be granted to the conservative media executives could be akin to an “aggressive courtship” by an administration wanting to stay on good terms with the conservative newspapers in the future, as well as a political reward for favorable coverage of the government and the ruling party.

Kim Seo-joong, a professor at SungKongHoe University, described the pardons for the conservative newspaper executives as a “symbolic measure to strengthen the cozy relationship between the government and media.”

Another media scholar said the pardons were made in return for what the government must see as the debts they owe following the candlelight demonstrations, when the three conservative newspapers printed what many saw as coverage favorable to the Lee administration. The convicted media executives could be on the list of special pardons endorsed by President Lee because former journalists with the three newspapers “play an important role in key posts” within the current administration, the scholar said.

Professor Kim pointed out, “Media company owners have a great deal of influence on society and should be subject to stricter social standards. Their sentences should not be lifted.”

Konkuk University Professor Hwang Yong-seok said, “Even the large number of pardons granted to convicted businesspeople is excessive, so there is no justification for pardoning newspaper owners, who must have greater social responsibility and media ethics that are more strict than those followed by corporations.”

Some observers said that the newspaper executives, whose companies are considering expanding into the broadcasting industry, may have been pardoned to allow them to continue in their posts or assume higher posts when the expansions take place. Under the current broadcasting law, people whose sentences are heavier than imprisonment are banned from heading a broadcasting company for five years.

If the government allows newspaper companies to expand into the broadcasting industry, the three conservative newspapers are likely to establish cable TV channels featuring news programs or all-news TV channels. In particular, the Chosun Ilbo chief, who stepped down from his post as the newspaper’s publisher, is expected to return to the post once the pardon takes effect. The newspaper law bans a person from assuming the post of publisher if the person receives a suspended jail sentence.

Kim Young-ho, an executive with the People’s Coalition for Media Reform, said, “Unlike at ordinary companies, the newspaper law restricts the qualifications of publishers because a media company’s job lies within the public interest. The decision to pardon the newspaper executives should be regarded as paving the way for their companies to make inroads into the broadcasting industry.”

Chosun Ilbo chief Bang and the other media executives were all indicted on tax evasion charges in 2001. The Supreme Court found them guilty on charges of tax evasion or embezzlement in 2005 and 2006.

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