hankyoreh

By Kim Hyo-sil, staff reporter

The Hankyoreh was named both South Korea’s most trusted news outlet and its most frequently viewed in a questionnaire of experts by the weekly magazine Sisa Journal.

The Hankyoreh ranked first with 27.5% of votes for “most trusted news source” in the poll results, released on Sept. 1 by Sisa Journal. Broadcaster KBS came in second with 25.8%, followed by the JTBC network with 20.5%, the Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper with 19.6%, and the Chosun Ilbo newspaper with 15.0%.

One thousand experts from ten different fields, including civil servants (Level 5 or higher), professors, legal professionals, businesspeople, and NGO members, were interviewed by telephone for the survey between July 28 and Aug. 8. Up to three answers were allowed for each category.

In the category of “most thoroughly viewed or read news source,” the Hankyoreh placed first with 22.4% of votes, followed by the Chosun Ilbo with 21.8%, KBS with 20.0%, and the online portal site Naver with 19.8%. Previous surveys conducted since 2008 had the Hankyoreh consistently ranked between second and fifth place. The same survey last year had the newspaper ranked second for trust and fourth for thoroughness of reading.

KBS held on to first place for the second straight year in the category of “most influential,” with 63.7% of votes. The Chosun Ilbo ranked second (51.2%), followed by Naver (32.1%). The Hankyoreh placed ninth with 9.5%.

JTBC ranked sixth for influence, third for trust, and eighth for viewing frequency.

President Park Geun-hye was named as the country’s “most influential person,” earning 78.1% of votes. Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee came in second with 22.2%, while Kim Moo-sung, chairman of the ruling Saenuri Party (NFP) placed third with 12.1%.

Kim also tied with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon as the “politician with the most potential to challenge for the next presidency,” with both men earning 18.1% of votes.

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