hankyoreh

Feb. 24. (by Park Jong-shik

By Kim Hyo-sil and Nam Ji-eun, staff reporters

A senior reporter at MBC called the public apology offered by 121 MBC reporters on May 12 a “miracle.” While the move could be little more than an attempt to mimic the contrition shown by KBS reporters, even this can be regarded as major progress.

The reporters’ statement was prompted by MBC provincial news editor of the reporting department Park Sang-hu’s coverage of the death of a civilian diver on the May 7 segment of MBC News Desk. Park implied that the death was due to the “hastiness” of the bereaved families. One after another, reporters at the broadcaster began to post critical opinions under their own names on the company message board, ultimately leading to the drafting of the statement signed by 121 reporters.

“Is there any other broadcaster in the entire world that ran a report reproving and criticizing the victims of a major catastrophe? People are even calling it a ‘reporting disaster.’ It is really atrocious,” the senior reporter said.

All of the reporters said that they are determined to accept the possibility of reprisals. “It will probably happen when the public’s attention is diverted, maybe around the time of the World Cup. The broadcaster will discipline us for this statement. We are all prepared for that,” the senior reporter said.

In fact, MBC transferred two reporters to the provinces on May 14. The reporters, who have been working for the company for 14- and 15-years, have participated in previous strikes. Company employees are describing the reassignments as vindictive and designed to teach a lesson as part of efforts to block spreading criticism of reports on the sinking of the Sewol ferry.

The situation is quite different from when reporters went on an extended strike in 2012. The issuance of a single statement is prompting talk of “preparing for retribution” and “a miracle.”

Reporters said that MBC is bewildering employees using fear that relies upon targeted punishment. “Currently inside the office I can’t speak my opinion freely even when I’m on a smoke break. I have no idea when or how I’m going to be kicked out of the reporting department,” one reporter said on condition of anonymity.

“We find ourselves thinking of that part of the Chinese novel ‘Chohanji’ where Hanshin puts up with the shame of crawling between someone’s legs so that he can achieve great things in the future. Reading the online comic ‘The Awl,’ which shows how companies fail to abide by the Labor Standards Act, I am barely able to keep going to work,” another reporter said.

Problems of this sort are not limited to the reporting department. The investigative and documentary bureau has given scanty attention to coverage of the Sewol tragedy. Even “PD Notebook” hasn’t provided additional coverage to the story since its Apr. 22 program.

KBS has run a number of investigative reports on the Sewol - two on “60 Minute Pursuit” (one of which was broadcast twice), two on “Window on Current Events,” and one on “KBS Panorama” - but the current events and education programs on MBC have only run a total of two programs on the topic.

“As criticism of the government has spread, with the bereaved families trying to march on the Blue House, all of the directions for producing investigative programs have been turned on their heads,” said one MBC program director.

Recently, MBC management has been pushing the directors and reporters even further into a corner. Even after hiring around 50 experienced reporters along with trainee reporters and directors to replace the workers who are on strike, the broadcaster is hiring new desk reporters.

“The reporters who are telling the truth are singled out for punishment and are transferred out of Seoul, and the reporters who are cozy with management take their place. It is becoming harder and harder to express opinions,” said one MBC reporter.

“We are hiring experienced reporters as part of an attempt to buttress the middle rung of the company and to freely hire talented individuals. This has nothing to do with the vindictive personnel decisions that some are accusing us of,” said an employee with the MBC public relations department.

Meanwhile, the ratings at MBC are continuing to fall behind SBS. The broadcaster used to enjoy the reputation for having the best dramas, but lately it has only gained attention for the historical drama ‘Empress Ki’ and for several sensational soap operas.

From the end of the long strike in 2012 until the present, around 160 employees have been disciplined, with eight fired, 52 suspended, and 96 put on probation, assigned to take training classes, or unfairly transferred. Last year, Son Seok-hee, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University at the time, quit a radio program.

Under the administration of Korean President Park Geun-hye, MBC has come to resemble “Kim Jae-cheol Season 2.” The managers and leaders who were responsible for biased reports have gained even more power and prestige.

MBC President Ahn Gwang-han was a close confidante of former president Kim Jae-cheol. At the time of the strike, as MBC vice president and chairman of the personnel committee, he was the primary person behind the mass discipline of striking employees. Lee Jin-suk, the head of the public relations department who was known as “Kim Jae-cheol’s mouthpiece,” became the head of the reporting department.

There are also ongoing accusations of unfair reporting, with MBC swept up in controversy about its lopsided reports about Ahn Cheol-soo, the case of Yoo Woo-sung, the Seoul city employee who was framed as a spy, and Prosecutor-General Chae Dong-wook.

“Many new and experienced reporters who are either on good terms with management or whose position at the company is precarious have been placed on political beats, including politics and law. They do not have the strength to push back against unfair orders,” one reporter said on condition of anonymity.

Reporters and directors at MBC earnestly asked for the support of the Korean people. “There are some people who say that they don’t watch MBC and that it would be best to get rid of it altogether, but I don’t agree with them at all. MBC is a public asset, and most of the people who are working there are still trying to make decent programs,” a former MBC director named Choi Seung-ho wrote on his Facebook page on May 15. It has been 695 days since Choi was fired from his job.

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