hankyoreh

By Moon Hyun-sook, media correspondent

The Hankyoreh was chosen as the most trusted newspaper the 8th year in a row in a survey of experts conducted by Sisa Journal, an independent weekly magazine.

On August 12, Sisa Journal announced the results of a survey titled ‘Who Moves Korea 2012’, conducted by Media Research from July 18 to 27.

According to the survey, which allowed 3 overlapping responses, the Hankyoreh received a credibility rating of 29.1%, first among newspapers. The Kyunghyang Shinmun was next with 19.8% and the Chosun Ilbo third with 15.5%.

The Hankyoreh was second among all media outlets, following Korea Broadcasting System (KBS), whose rating was 30.1%. For the eight years since 2005, the Hankyoreh has held the top spot as the trustworthiest newspaper.

In a survey of the most influential media, the Hankyoreh came in sixth. It moved up three places from last year when it was ninth, beating the Dong-a Ilbo and Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS).

In the same survey, KBS was chosen as the most influential media at a rate of 56.1%. The Chosun Ilbo, 45.0%, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), 30.7%, internet portal site Naver, 25.6% and the Joongang Ilbo, 13.4%, followed.

According to the survey of the most closely read media outlet, the Hankyoreh took second place at 21.9% after the Chosunilbo (22.5%). Next were Naver (21.2%) and KBS (18.6%). The Kyunghyang Shinmun was ranked 5th at 15.1%.

In the survey of the most influential figure, President Lee Myung-bak was ranked at 3rd place of 26.1%, following Geun-hye, 48.4%, and Ahn Chul-soo, 46.0%. It was the first time that the current president didn’t rank first since 1992 when then-president Roh Tae-woo was pushed to 3rd place by two presidential candidates, Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung.

Other than that, Professor Son Seok-hee of Sungshin Women’s University was found to be the most influential figure in journalism. Lee Kun-hee, Chairman of Samsung Electronics was named the most influential figure in the economy and the deceased senior Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church Kim Su-hwan the most influential religious figure.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was chosen as the most influential civic leader. President Barack Obama was the most influential foreign figure, Park Ji-sung and Girls’ Generation were named the top figures in sports and entertainment, respectively.

The survey questioned 1,000 experts, 100 from 10 fields, including administrative officers, professors, journalists, legal professionals, politicians, and economists.

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