Guest Post: Journalist preemptively jailed for libel in South Korea, a prosperous OECD country
The following guest post is submitted by Dr. Tara O.
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The Committee to Protect Journalists’ map shows that 262 journalists were imprisoned in numerous countries around the world in 2017. The Republic of Korea was not on the map as one of those countries . . . until now. With the jailing of Byun Hee-jae of a small independent media outlet Media Watch (www.mediawatch.kr) on May 30, 2018,South Korea, a prosperous OECD country, took a step back by jailing a journalist. The Moon administration has already targeted major media broadcasters. Early in his presidency, Moon Jae-in used labor unions and the government apparatus to forcibly replace the heads of MBC and KBS, 2 of the major TV and radio broadcasters, in South Korea. See here for further details. Now the Moon administration is targeting small, independent media to further silence those it does not like.
The charge against Byun? Libel. The reason for jailing? “Justified based on the criminal charge” and “the concern for evidence tampering,” said Lee Un-hak (이언학), the head judge of the Arrest Warrant Department of the Seoul Central Prosecutor’s Office. Byun is imprisoned even before being given a trial.
It is rare to be confined for alleged defamation. According to the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office’s Crime Analysis Statistics, of the 17,401 people charged with libel in 2016, only 15, or .086 percent, were imprisoned, and even less (3 or .017 percent) had advanced arrest warrants. The reason for such a low imprisonment rate is due to the controversy over restricting the freedom of expression as well as the mildness of the crime compared to murder or robbery. To jail someone charged with libel is certainly uncommon.
In this case, the libel charges stem from Byun’s assertion that cable channel “JTBC colluded with former presidential administrator Kim Han-su to obtain a tablet PC, manipulated the files to make it appear that Choi Soon-sil (최순실) used it, and reported it” on TV as such.
JTBC aired the tablet PC story consecutively on October 24, 25, and 26, 2016. On the 26th, JTBC’s president and anchor Sohn Suk-hee appeared himself on TV to claim that the tablet PC belonged to Choi, that the tablet contained Park’s Dresden Speech, and that Choi edited it. It led people to believe that Park was not running the country, but Choi was, and that Choi had “Gukjeong Nongdan” (국정농단; monopoly of state affairs), which made Park Geun-hye an abdicator of power.
JTBC’s unsubstantiated claim about the tablet PC angered the public, leading to multiple, massive candlelight protests. The prosecutors and the constitutional court also referred to the news stories about the tablet PC as “evidence” of “monopoly of state affairs.”
Park was impeached, and Moon was elected. Unlike what has been written in English, Park was not impeached for corruption or bribery, but for charges that she gave away the “monopoly of state affairs,” and the tablet PC was seen as the “silver bullet.”
The tablet PC turned out to contain no evidence per the special prosecutors’ own forensic report and was not even Choi’s. The tablet PC also did not contain Korean document editing-capable software. The report, however, was not released to the public until a year later, long after the impeachment had concluded and the public fervor had died down.
Sohn stated afterwards that “even if there was no such thing as the [insignificant] tablet PC . . . , [it wouldn’t have mattered]” implying that Park would have been impeached anyway, although it was his TV program that incited people. JTBC, popular among the youth, has made other erroneous claims and sensationalized reporting on the Sewol Ferry sinking, Theater High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD), and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
Byun had written articles on his Media Watch website, recorded videos on the Youtube and published a book, “The Curse of Sohn Suk-hee” (손석희의 저주) since December 2016, disputing Sohn’s claim about the tablet PC.
The police arrested Byun in the early hours on May 30, 2018 on charges that Byun slandered JTBC, Sohn Suk-hee, and the employees, and that Sohn’s family is severely suffering. On Youtube, Byun stated on May 28 that he would be detained soon and that his video may be his last (see from :38) for some time. He said he had been writing and airing this topic for a year and a half, but had no complaints (starting 3:17) from JTBC or Sohn before, and wondered why now.
Jailing a journalist for libel is highly unusual. What is happening to the freedom of press and the rule of law in South Korea? If there is a trial, Byun must have one in six months. Will the authorities lock him up for that long? Will there be a trial? Does the judge’s claim that Byun may tamper with evidence have credibility? His book, articles, and videos have already been published, so it would be hard to hide them, even if he had any intent.
The Moon administration has already taken over some of the major TV and radio broadcasters. Some journalists have found their voices in small and independent media. Now, the Moon administration wants to silence them too.
(Photo credit: Yonhap)
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A previous version of this post said that South Korea was the only OECD country to preemptively jail a journalist. Dr. O now believes that statement to be incorrect and writes in to request the correction.