KOREA: Roh defends Information Agency

Critics denounce Agency as mouthpiece for current administration

The Korea Times
Sunday, November 6, 2006

By Ryu Jin

President Roh Moo-hyun on Saturday denounced the call from his opponents to shut down the state information agency as a politically motivated attack, claiming it is a demand on him to stop working.

"It is the same as saying the government should not explain or actively promote its policies and no longer come up with any more policies," he said in a meeting with public relations officials from ministries and other government agencies.

The remarks came in response to the main opposition Grand National Party’s (GNP’s) recent move to close the Government Information Agency, which publicizes various policies of the administration.

Backed by some conservative news media that are highly critical of the liberal Roh, the GNP presented a bill on information to the National Assembly last Thursday. It calls for the closure of the information agency and the transfer of its tasks to the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

In what political analysts call an on-going fight between the ruling and opposition camps, the GNP has accused the information agency of being a mouthpiece for the president, instead of properly disseminating information on state policies.

"The agency has even seriously undermined the freedom of press and the neutrality of public servants," said Jung Jong-bok, a GNP lawmaker who has been leading the proposed legislation.

However, Roh says that the information agency must be reinforced under the circumstances in which some powerful news media wield undue influences on public opinion in covering state affairs including major government policies.

Since his inauguration in early 2003, and even before that time, Roh found himself in conflict with some major dailies which are regarded as more sympathetic to the conservative GNP than the liberal Roh and his Uri Party.

The ruling party and the presidential office have often complained about what they called malicious criticism by the media and the opposition party, while claiming the information agency was able to counterbalance "distorted reports."

"The (opposition’s) claims are based on unreasonable assumptions from their impression of the governments in the past when they committed wrongs and deceived the people," Roh said. "We can correctly implement our policies only if we significantly strengthen the government’s public relations functions."

While the ruling party holds the largest number of seats in the Assembly, the opposition-sponsored bill to eliminate the agency seems unlikely to pass a floor vote if it is presented to a plenary session. But political pundits say the debate will likely continue for some time.

Date Posted: 11/6/2005