hankyoreh

Seoul

By Kwon Gwi-soon, staff writer

The KBS network chapter of the National Union of Media Workers, currently in the 52nd day of its strike, launched an “Occupy KBS” camp-out protest Thursday.

The New Union voted Thursday afternoon to hold the second strike at a general meeting of members held in front of the new KBS hall in Seoul’s Yeouido neighborhood, with around 500 people in attendance. The union members, who came from across the country, set up 47 tents in Yeouido Park, near the KBS building. They had planned to set up camp outside the KBS building, but around 500 riot police prevented them from setting up.

A union official said, “The ‘Occupy KBS’ battle is an expression of our determination to evict Kim In-kyu, the network’s ‘parachute president,’ restore KBS as a forum of communication, and give it back to the people.” The New Union plans to hold a solidarity strike with the trade union MBC, another major broadcaster.

“Parachute appointees” is a term used to refer to individuals placed in positions of power by influential people such as President Lee Myung-bak, despite the appointees’ lack of qualifications.

Anchor Jeong Se-jin, who took part in the camp-out event Thursday, responded to the network’s foul play in dismissing reporter Choe Gyeong-yeong by saying that “the impetus for the strike has only grown. The reasons for the firing don‘t make sense".

"If they fire him that way, then everyone will end up getting fired," she added.

Jeong had her first taping Thursday as anchor for "Reset News," an Internet news program developed by the New Union. Previously the anchor for News 9," the network’s main news show, for five years beginning in 2001, Jeong said, "News 9 needs to play a role of monitoring those in power, but it has hardly done that at all.

“Since ‘Current Affairs Tonight’ was discontinued, there hasn’t been any avenue for investigative reporting,” she continued.

Jeong is taking part in the strike as one of the new year’s fourteen anchor members.

The union designated Tuesday as “media day,” organizing an occasion for talking about the strike with Choe and Jeong.

“The network is framing [my dismissal] as the ‘firing of a foul-mouthed reporter,’ but people see it as the firing of an investigative reporter,” Choe said.

“I want this strike to result in the old investigative team coming back, include the reinstatement of team leader Kim Yong-jin, a pioneer of investigative reporting who's still in Ulsan,” he added.

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