South Korea

The election of long-time human rights campaigner and former political prisoner Kim Dae Jung as president in December should bode well for the continued protection of South Korea’s press, which already enjoys considerable freedom. Kim—an outspoken advocate of free expression who was once under sentence of death by a previous military government—seems fully committed to broadening the democracy South Korea has developed since military rule ended in 1987. Shortly after his election, Kim blamed much of the Asian economic crisis on authoritarian
governments that "lie" to their people. "Many of the leaders of Asian society have been saying that military dictatorship was the way and democracy was not good for their nations," Kim said in an interview with The Washington Post. "I believe that the fundamental cause of the financial crisis, including here in Korea, is because of placing economic development ahead of democracy."

Yet traces of South Korea’s authoritarian past are evident. On December 19, just one day after the presidential election, American radio reporter Richard Choi was arrested on criminal defamation charges stemming from a report he filed from Seoul that was broadcast only in the United States. Ironically, it was the Korea Times/Hankook Ilbo that pressured prosecutors to jail the reporter. Choi had reported on rumored financial problems at the company. CPJ campaigned vigorously for Choi’s release.

Observers in Korea fear that Choi’s prosecution, under an old law prohibiting rumor-mongering against corporations, may foreshadow a tougher climate for the media in the face of the worst economic crisis to hit the country in a generation.

Because a formal state of war still exists between North and South Korea, a tough national security law which punishes those who "praise" or "benefit" the north remains on the books and is a potential threat to journalists.