Prosecutors examine a blacklist of TV producers under Lee Myung-bak
By You Soo-sun
Prosecutors are examining evidence suggesting the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had systematic influence over the media industry under the Lee Myung-bak administration.
A spy agency inquiry found a host of documents including a blacklist of producers and executives who held critical views of the government then, according to local news agency Yonhap, Sunday.
This follows a similar list of celebrities it disclosed last Monday, allegedly used to cut them off from state subsidized programs. The latest revelation suggests the state agency's interference had been prevalent and systematic under Lee.
The blacklist included names of executives at broadcasters' headquarters in Seoul and at their local stations. Producers deemed critical of the government were also on the list.
The documents date back to 2009 when the NIS was under the leadership of Won Sei-hoon and include specific plans to control personnel matters in the media industry, primarily the two major public broadcasters MBC and KBS.
In March 2010, for example, the NIS requested that a producer be excluded from receiving a top award for a documentary. In April the same year, it allegedly pressured a broadcaster to transfer a radio producer to a local station in the countryside.
The prosecution plans to investigate whether such plans had actually been followed through on, and if there were inappropriate exchanges between top officials at the NIS and the broadcasters.
It will also look into the possibility of the NIS having kept a blacklist of producers as a way of influencing celebrities' television appearances.
During a press conference held Friday, the MBC union said the investigation was looking into "the ways in which the state agency's control over MBC had taken effect" and that its results "confirmed a prevalent and shocking interference." It also claimed the investigation results confirmed there were "specific attempts to control not just the news and current affairs programs, but also radio, television reality shows and dramas."
In the National Assembly, 15 members of the Democratic Party of Korea submitted a request for a thorough investigation into the conservative administrations of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye on how they seized control of the media environment.
Meanwhile, Lee has been increasingly targeted by the prosecution for various corruption charges he allegedly committed during and prior to his presidency. This includes his involvement in the stock price manipulation of LKe Bank and the investment company BBK that reportedly caused 5,500 investors to lose money, and the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project suspected of causing detrimental environmental effects.
By You Soo-sun
Prosecutors are examining evidence suggesting the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had systematic influence over the media industry under the Lee Myung-bak administration.
A spy agency inquiry found a host of documents including a blacklist of producers and executives who held critical views of the government then, according to local news agency Yonhap, Sunday.
This follows a similar list of celebrities it disclosed last Monday, allegedly used to cut them off from state subsidized programs. The latest revelation suggests the state agency's interference had been prevalent and systematic under Lee.
The blacklist included names of executives at broadcasters' headquarters in Seoul and at their local stations. Producers deemed critical of the government were also on the list.
The documents date back to 2009 when the NIS was under the leadership of Won Sei-hoon and include specific plans to control personnel matters in the media industry, primarily the two major public broadcasters MBC and KBS.
In March 2010, for example, the NIS requested that a producer be excluded from receiving a top award for a documentary. In April the same year, it allegedly pressured a broadcaster to transfer a radio producer to a local station in the countryside.
The prosecution plans to investigate whether such plans had actually been followed through on, and if there were inappropriate exchanges between top officials at the NIS and the broadcasters.
It will also look into the possibility of the NIS having kept a blacklist of producers as a way of influencing celebrities' television appearances.
During a press conference held Friday, the MBC union said the investigation was looking into "the ways in which the state agency's control over MBC had taken effect" and that its results "confirmed a prevalent and shocking interference." It also claimed the investigation results confirmed there were "specific attempts to control not just the news and current affairs programs, but also radio, television reality shows and dramas."
In the National Assembly, 15 members of the Democratic Party of Korea submitted a request for a thorough investigation into the conservative administrations of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye on how they seized control of the media environment.
Meanwhile, Lee has been increasingly targeted by the prosecution for various corruption charges he allegedly committed during and prior to his presidency. This includes his involvement in the stock price manipulation of LKe Bank and the investment company BBK that reportedly caused 5,500 investors to lose money, and the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project suspected of causing detrimental environmental effects.
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