Criticism of Korean Leader Mounts For His Crackdown on Nation's Media

SEOUL, South Korea -- Is one of Asia's most celebrated democrats, South Korean President and Nobel laureate Kim Dae Jung, stifling his nation's press?

That's the charge Mr. Kim's critics, both domestically and internationally, are making after his government's crackdown on the alleged tax evasion and other financial dealings of South Korea's largest newspapers. Mr. Kim insists he moved in the name of reform. His political opponents see his measures as a bid to ensure the continuing dominance of his Millennium Democratic Party by silencing opposing voices.

Last month, South Korea's national tax office levied 505.6 billion won ($390.3 million) in fines against 23 domestic media companies for allegedly evading 1.36 trillion won in taxes. Authorities have initiated criminal proceedings against six newspapers, including the publishers, their affiliates, and the major shareholders of the nation's three largest newspapers. The national editors' association said many of the country's newspapers could be fined out of existence if the government's ruling is upheld.

"If they [the papers] are not able to pay their taxes, they will face confiscation or forced disposals," said the Korea News Editors' Association. "They will have to choose between begging to the government or closing down."

The hardest-hit newspaper, the Chosun Ilbo, is the country's most conservative and has been particularly critical of Mr. Kim's peace initiative toward North Korea, both in its editorials and news coverage. The paper has denied that it evaded taxes and says it "believes the tax audit was undertaken as the key strategy in the government's attempt to muzzle criticism of its policies."

The Big Three

Top newspapers targeted in the Seoul government's tax crackdown

	Tax allegedly evaded	Amount of fine	Daily print run
Chosun Ilbo	161.4 billion won	86.4 billion won	2.5 million
JoongAng Ilbo	172.3 billion won	85 billion won	2.4 million
Dong-a Ilbo	170 billion won	82.7 billion won	2.4 million

Sources: National Tax Service, the companies

The timing of the government's action has enraged opposition politicians in Seoul. Regional elections are slated for June of next year and presidential elections in December 2002. The conservative opposition Grand National Party said Mr. Kim's government was "destroying the critical press like a military operation" in order to ensure it remains in power. Former President Kim Young Sam, who isn't affiliated with any party at the moment, accused Kim Dae Jung of attempting to prepare for a "lifetime presidency."

This image of Mr. Kim as an autocrat contrasts sharply with his 30-year record as a democratic reformer and human-rights activist. Since taking office in 1998, Mr. Kim has burnished this reputation. His efforts to forge a peace pact between North and South Korea, Cold War enemies of more than 50 years, earned him last year's Nobel Peace Prize. "With great moral strength, Kim Dae Jung has stood out in East Asia as a leading defender of universal human rights against attempts to limit the relevance of those rights in Asia," the Nobel Committee said in awarding him the prize.

Now, however, even some South Koreans are criticizing Mr. Kim for the single-mindedness of his peace drive. Last week, his government refused to allow North Korea's highest-level defector to travel to Washington at the invitation of senior U.S. lawmakers. Mr. Kim's national security agency said the decision was made to protect the safety of Hwang Jang Yop and that the visit "needs sufficient examination and preparation time." Domestic critics say the president doesn't want to allow Mr. Hwang to detail North Korea's human-rights abuses before a U.S. audience, fearing it could undercut support for Mr. Kim's so-called sunshine policy of engaging with the North.

"The South Korean government is passive on international human-rights issues," said Jung An Sook, who heads Good Friends, a large human-rights organization. "The country should not look at the refugee issue [in North Korea] from a political point of view anymore."

Mr. Kim has made the respect of human rights and civil liberties the cornerstone of his political career. Since taking office, he's cited the reform of the country's public institutions, such as the judicial system, business conglomerates and the media, as crucial to South Korea's future.

Some see Mr. Kim's attempts at reforming the media as destroying it. Mr. Kim himself has stated that auditing South Korea's newspapers is a crucial element in cleaning up the national media. "I am confident that this investigation and its results will contribute to the development of a transparent and sound press," Mr. Kim told a cabinet meeting last week. "The fairness of the recent audit is guaranteed."

Indeed, many in South Korea say they support the government's actions. Recent polls show that the majority of South Koreans feel the newspapers should pay the taxes and that the government's recent actions were just. One poll even showed that more than half of those journalists contacted felt it was impossible for the country's media companies to reform on their own.

"South Korea's press has become the most powerful institution in the country; Koreans have been demanding for its reform," said Hong Il Pyo, a member of the South Korean civil-action group, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. His group says Mr. Kim has been the only South Korean president brave enough to take on the newspapers. "It's not good to make enemies with the press with the presidential elections coming up," he said.

Still, others still say that the timing and severity of the crackdown speaks poorly for press reforms in one of Asia's newly democratized countries. Indeed, some fear that President Kim's actions could set a bad precedent for other Asian countries that are unshackling their media after decades of authoritarian rule.

"We would like to remind the Korean authorities that there is a real need to proceed cautiously in this matter as it may otherwise have a detrimental effect on international confidence in South Korea," the Zurich-based International Press Institute said.