hankyoreh

Inaugural Executive Editor Lim Jae-kyung (front left) holds the first edition of the Hankyoreh fresh off the printers on May 14, 1988. (Hankyoreh archives)

The Hankyoreh, which celebrates its 10,000th issue on May 18, is a newspaper operating under a democratic ownership system without parallel anywhere else in the world. Its cornerstone was laid with funds contributed by 70,000 members of the South Korean public. Most of them were small shareholders -- indeed, 95% of all shareholders own fewer than 200 shares (with a face value of 1 million won [US$811.68]).

The Hankyoreh’s shareholders are different from those at other media outlets. They did not purchase their shares as an investment. Rather, they answered the call for “citizen owners” as an expression of their belief that South Korea required a truly democratic press to complete the process of democratization in the wake of the June Struggle in 1987.

The Hankyoreh’s shareholders have included the late former Presidents Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung, and Roh Moo-hyun, as well as current President Moon Jae-in. All of them became shareholders before taking office. Kim Dae-jung was the first to purchase shares as leader of the Peace Democratic Party in 1989; a few months later, Reunification Democratic Party leader Kim Young-sam also took part as a shareholder.

Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in took part in the fundraising effort for the Hankyoreh’s launch in 1987, at a time when they were spearheading the democratization movement as human rights attorneys. They were among the inaugural shareholders.

Roh also announced his intent to participate in the raising of development funds when the Hankyoreh was campaigning for a “second launch” for development funds in May 2005. In confidence, he conveyed that he wanted to provide 10 million won (US$8,122) as a development fund from a deposit account established with his presidential pay. Since he was an existing shareholder and no restrictions had been set on development fund donations, the Hankyoreh was planning to accept. Rather than announcing his participation separately, it planned to publish his name in the newspaper with the list of all donors once the fundraising effort was complete.

But the Chosun Ilbo found out and began making a fuss. In an editorial, the newspaper described Roh as “offering all sorts of support to the media that agree with him, while not hesitating to impose all sorts of regulations on the ones that criticize him.” The attempt to stir the pot was both malicious and outrageous -- but to avoid what could turn into a wasteful controversy, the timeline for Roh’s participation was pushed back until after he left office.

At a general shareholders’ meeting this March, the Hankyoreh decided to provide dividends to its shareholders for the first time since its launch. The idea of shareholder dividends had been considered several times before, but had ended up being put off due to the company’s financial situation. In announcing its dividends, the Hankyoreh described them as a “small reward to our shareholders for their support and care for the Hankyoreh” and pledged to “do our utmost to continue growing as a sustainable media company.”’

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