(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a 1 December 2006 letter by WAN and others to South Korean minister of culture and tourism Myung-Gon Kim: H.E. Myung-Gon Kim Minister of Culture and Tourism 82-1 Sejongno, Jongno-gu Seoul 110-703 Korea Email: minister@mct.go.kr 1 December 2006 Dear Minister, We are writing on behalf of the World Association of […]
(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a 1 December 2006 letter by WAN and others to South Korean minister of culture and tourism Myung-Gon Kim:
H.E. Myung-Gon Kim
Minister of Culture and Tourism
82-1 Sejongno, Jongno-gu
Seoul 110-703 Korea
Email: minister@mct.go.kr
1 December 2006
Dear Minister,
We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 102 countries, to express our serious concern at an initiative by Yonhap, the State-owned news agency, to seek closure of the Korean market to direct distribution of information from foreign news agencies.
We understand that at the Fair Trade Agreement talks in Cheju Island in November, Yonhap argued that it should regain its monopoly on such news agency distribution through the withdrawal of access to the market except through Yonhap itself.
We believe that to reinstitute the Yonhap monopoly on news agency distribution would be a significant blow to press freedom in Korea. It simply is not acceptable in a modern democracy and a free market to deprive media of their right to receive international news from any source they wish to choose.
The reinstatement of monopoly control of information through Yonhap would clearly constitute a breach of the right to the free flow of information, which is guaranteed by numerous international conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 of the Declaration states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers.”
In appealing to you to put a stop to this damaging Yonhap initiative, we respectfully suggest to you that competition among news agencies will benefit both Korean media companies and the public. We urge you to ensure that your country fully respects its international obligations to uphold the free flow of information.
We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
Yours sincerely,
Gavin O’Reilly
President
World Association of Newspapers
George Brock
President
World Editors Forum
WAN is the global organization for the newspaper industry, with formal representative status at the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. The organization groups 18,000 newspapers in 102 countries, 11 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups. WAN is non-governmental and non-profit.