인기협성명, “오라일리 WAN 회장대행의 망발, 개탄스럽다”
게빈 오라일리 회장대행은 30일 총회 환영사에서 “최근 입법된 신문법은 신문의 시장점유율을 제한하고 있는데 이는 바람직하지 않다”는 취지의 입장을 밝혔다.
오라일리 회장은 “주요 신문과 그들의 자유를 제한함으로써 일정하게 그들의 힘을 줄이려는 계획을 요구하는 국가 사이에 존재하는 상당한 긴장이 있다는 사실을 우리는 깨닫고 있다”며 정부가 거대 언론의 자유를 제한한다는 오도된 인식을 드러냈다.
뿐만 아니라 그는 “독자가 신문을 선택할 자유를 제한하는 것은 민주주의에서 일반적 관례가 아니다”라며 “신문의 편집인과 발행인의 권한을 제한하는 것도 문제”라고 주장했다. 오라일리 회장은 “지금 제안되어 있는 신문 관련 다른 개정법안에도 문제가 있다”며 “이는 신문 발행인과 편집인의 자유를 간섭하는 조치로, 이 문제와 관련이 있는 대표들을 언제든지 만나 논의할 준비가 되어 있다”고 밝혔다.
한국인터넷기자협회는 신문매체의 위기의 근본원인은 독자의 신뢰성 상실 때문이라고 판단한다. 특히 한국에서의 신문 위기는 족벌 수구언론들의 반시장적, 반독자적 행태에 의한 것이며 친일, 반민주, 반통일적, 반노동자적 보도 등 오히려 언론자유와 국민의 알권리에 반하는 반언론적 작태를 반세기가 넘게 벌여왔기 때문에 빚어진 일이다.
한국의 언론 상황이 이러함에도 불구하고, 한국신문협회의 주축인 조중동의 입장을 그대로 반영한 오라일리 회장 대행의 환영사는 개탄스럽기 짝이 없는 발언이며, 그가 정말 팩트(사실)를 다루는 언론인인지조차 의심스럽게 하는 궤변이다. 신문법 그 어디에도 시장 점유율을 직접 제한하는 내용은 없기 때문이다.
신뢰성을 상실한 신문의 위기를 대안적 보도와 독자와의 양방향 소통 작용으로 극복하고자 하는 인터넷언론을 법 제도적으로 규정한 신문법은 상당한 문제점에도 불구하고 일부 긍정성이 있는 법안이다.
한국인터넷기자협회는 누더기로 입법화된 신문법을 ‘언론의 자유를 제한하는 조치’로 인식하고, ‘독자의 신문 선택 자유를 제한하는 법안’으로 오도하는 오라일리 WAN 회장의 망발을 강력하게 규탄하고자 한다. 오라일리 회장은 즉각 우리 국민과 한국의 언론과 언론인들에게 사과해야 할 것이다.
오라일리 회장 대행이 진정 한국에서의 언론자유를 말하려면 수구족벌언론의 불법탈법 행위를 지적하고, 시정을 요구해야 할 것이다. 또한 한반도의 언론, 출판, 사상의 자유를 옥죄고 탄압하는 반시대적 악법인 국가보안법 폐지를 촉구해야 할 것이다.
인터넷기자협회는 오라일리 회장에게 그의 발언 내용대로 즉각 신문법에 대한 논의와 토론을 공개적으로 벌일 것을 촉구한다.
오라일리 회장 대행의 궤변을 대서특필하는 조선일보, 동아일보 등 족벌수구언론의 작태도 한심하기 짝이 없지만 10억원이나 되는 막대한 예산을 이번 행사에 지원하고서도 한국을 언론 자유를 제한하는 나라로 인식하게 만든 근본책임은 정부 당국의 무 대응과 무력함에 있음을 명확히 하고자 한다.
끝으로 신문법의 내용을 오도하게 만든 전적인 책임은 세계신문협회 총회의 주최자인 한국신문협회 장대환 회장에게 있음을 분명히 하면서 그의 사과와 용단을 촉구한다.
2005년 6월 1일
한국인터넷기자협회 (회장 윤원석) www.kija.org
<영문항의서한 전문>
The Korean Internet Journalists Association
[Statement] We deplore the opening remarks by acting president of the World Association of Newspapers Gavin O’Reilly at the Seoul Congress - the WAN doesn't deserve to referee freedom of press in Korea
The 58th WAN Seoul Congress is turning delirious to distort reality of Korean press, rather than inviting innovative concepts and solutions for overcoming crisis of press, with the ill-twisted opening remarks by the acting president of the WAN, Gavin O'Reilly.
Mr. O'Reilly in the remarks reveals an utmost ignorance on the Korean context in regard to the recent bill 'Governing the Guarantee of Freedom and Functions of Newspapers (GFN)'. While overlapping the gap between the 'free' South Korea and 'no freedom, no media' kingdom of North Korea with the "significant tensions exist between major newspapers and the State", he stresses the GFN is "incompatible with internationally-recognized standards governing the freedom to publish.”
The Korean Internet Journalists Association (KIJA), on the contrary, finds that the crisis of the print news media in South Korea lies in that the major corporate newspapers with the largest market share irrevocably lost readers’ trust, the “relevance in society”, due to their anti-free market, anti-readership practices that have lasted for half a century.
Not only these major SK news media in question became ‘Chaebol’ as a state-collaborative trust under former authoritarian regimes, but they have also blinded, fabricated (rather than reporting), and thus violated readers’ right to truth over so many issues (encompassing the settlement of the past during the Japanese colonial rule, the National Security Law, the President Roh’s impeachment, SK labor unions, the South-North military tension, the Iraq war, etc.), the well-informed communication in public space of which is vital for democracy of Korean society. Their preached “freedom of press” is so corrupt that it became nothing else than an excuse to get away with blatant distortion and other persistent unlawful, unacceptable practices.
Completely oblivious to this Korean context of the press problem, Mr. O’Reilly only showed off his ignorance and unethical sidedness on the major SK newspaper groups Chosun-JoongAng-DongA (CJD), the axis of the Korean Association of Newspapers (KAN).
KIJA finds that the WAN’s (and the International Press Institute’s) concern about the “troubling clauses” in the GFN and their verdict that the GFN “appears to be an attempt at suppressing the main SK dailies - organizations critical of the incumbent government” are incorrect, one-sided, and extremely troubling themselves. Mr. O’Reilly particularly comments on the Article 17 ("Bills passed by the National Assembly which aim, among other things, to set limits on the market share of newspapers, are not a sensible way of dealing with what some may consider is excessive influence. Restricting a readers’ right to subscribe to the newspapers of their choice is unusual, to say the least, and is not something that is prevalent anywhere else in the democratic world.”), which is an out-of-portion simplification. The Article doesn’t directly set limits on the market share. It is about applying the ‘Fair Trade Law’ to prevent irregularities committed by the above-mentio ned CJD with their ‘chaebol practices’ including tax evasion and embezzlement, cross-ownership and inner dealings, false registering of circulation size to draw advertisement, readership ‘hooking’ with free subscription and free gifts, etc.
Mr. O’Reilly also mentions “there are problems, as the Korean Government is aware, with other proposed law revisions that appear to us to constitute an unwarranted interference in the freedom and autonomy of publishers and their editors” though he didn’t give the name of the ‘Newspaper and Press Arbitration Law’(NPL), which unlike his or the IPI’s estimates is not primarily to “empower the Press Arbitration Committee” and other “third-party applications” which will eventually become “press inspection agency” with the state-granted power and thus ‘interfere in the freedom and autonomy of the publishers’. The Law is to eliminate the largest share owned media’s infringement of fact reporting and their chronic practice of distorting contexts of social agenda that have undermined substantive democracy of Korea.
The bills in question, as yet to prove functional and to amend or clarify contentious clauses, were proposed as ways to protect readers’ right, access to diversity in media, and freedom of press, not to limit them under a communist-style iron grip of the state as troublingly imagined by the WAN or IPI.
The GFN also stipulates, for the first time, an institutionalization of active participation of civil society and of interactive Internet press, which we KIJA regards as innovative as well as democratic.
KIJA strongly accuse Mr. O’Reilly of his senseless remarks on the reality of press freedom in SK, and demand he apologize to Korean people, press, and colleagues of the press media. To utter “freedom”, he first should have pointed out that in Korea, the National Security Law gagging “freedom of press, publish, thought” has fanatically been advocated and propagated by those largest corporate newspapers he stood up for. To safeguard that “freedom”, he first should have mentioned that diversity of opinions must be protected, the diversity in the market of ideas that those largest corporate news media have sacrificed for their private interests.
We propose Mr. O’Reilly, as he proudly declared he can during the speech, should come forward to “discuss these issues” with us in public.
We protest against the way the CJD report this event of WAN Seoul Congress and abuse the acting president’s remarks to their ultra-right taste as usual.
We place serious responsibility on the Korean government that even after pouring a few hundred million won into the event could do nothing much else than showcasing Korea as an undemocratic country quelling press freedom, which is devious and delirious.
Lastly, we enter a strong protest against the host of the event KAN and its president Daehwan Chang for continuously having the GFN mistaken as a “state interference in freedom of press”. We demand he apologize and step down.
2005.6.1
연락처
한국인터넷기자협회 사무처
TEL:02)725-5003 / 2637-5518 /FAX:02)2637-5517
