hankyoreh

May 14. 　

The controversy over possible distortions in the Chosun Ilbo’s article “Two Years After the Mad Cow Disease Candlelight Protests” now appears to be headed to the courtroom.

The Seoul Central District Court said Sunday that former Agricultural Minister Kim Sung-hoon had filed a suit for 300 million Won ($243 thousand) in damages against the Chosun Ilbo and called for a correction, claiming he had suffered damages from what he claimed was the Chosun Ilbo’s distorted special report.

In the complaint, Kim said the Chosun Ilbo changed his original statement, in which he said that he had tried an environmentally friendly hamburger from In-N-Out Burger. The restaurant uses Mad Cow Disease-free meat from free-range cows and cows fed safe grass, as they were popular, citing them as an example of American sensitivity towards beef-related diseases. The Chosun, however, reported the statement as if he was now eating burgers and traveling to the U.S. despite having spoken previously about mad cow disease issues.

He claimed that as a result of the report, he has been labeled “two-faced.” Kim stressed that unlike the Chosun Ilbo report, the fact that Americans go to environmentally friendly places like In-N-Out Burger is direct evidence that Americans, too, consider American beef dangerous.

Kim said he has long pointed out the dangers of Mad Cow Disease, and he has never changed his basic position on the matter. He added that due to the Chosun Ilbo’s clear distortions, he has been seriously slandered. Kim also plans to file a request for a counter report at Seoul Central District Court this week.

Last month, the Chosun Ilbo ran a special report “Two Years After the Mad Cow Disease Candlelight Vigil Demonstration: The People of the Time Now,” including a report about Kim entitled “He Who Cried About 650,000 Deaths from Mad Cow Disease This Year Eats Burgers While Traveling to America.” It was a series intended to show that the experts, “Baby Stroller Brigade” and others who stressed the dangers of Mad Cow Disease at the time had changed their positions, denying what they said at the time.

As opposed to President Lee Myung-bak, who praised the Chosun’s report during a Cabinet meeting when the story was printed, many of those interviewed for the article claimed the Chosun Ilbo distorted their statements. In addition to Kim, Seoul University veterinary medicine professor Woo Hee-jong plans to sue the Chosun Ilbo in the Press Arbitration Commission this week, while other individuals included in the article are also reportedly considering legal action.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]