The media is expected to decide whether to disclose criminal suspects’ faces or not in line with a change in the journalism ethics code.

By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

Whether or not to disclose the face of a serious criminal suspect will be subject to the discretion of individual newspapers and broadcasters, it was announced, Wednesday.

The Korea News Editors' Association said that it has revised its journalism ethics code after reflecting on the opinions of media-related organizations.

The change is in line with the recent controversy over the disclosure of serial killer suspect Kang Ho-soon's face. Police have hidden criminal suspects' faces behind a mask and a cap to prevent media exposure in order to protect their human rights. But some newspapers and broadcasters released his photo in January, citing the public's right to know.

The revised measure will grant media more autonomy in covering criminal suspects. It will recommend that the press ``take public interest into consideration as much as possible'' in photographing criminal suspects and publishing and broadcasting the pictures ― leaving the door virtually wide open for individual organizations to make up their own minds over cases.

So far, the ethics code has stipulated that the media should not disclose pictures of suspects without their consent if they are not caught committing a crime red-handed or are public figures ― a measure designed to protect human rights.

A recent survey by the Korea Press Foundation on 1,146 reporters, program directors and media experts showed that 64.9 percent answered in favor of disclosing Kang's face.

Police, the Ministry of Justice and the governing Grand National Party are also moving to revise the law to disclose the identity of criminal suspects charged with serious acts of violence, such as murder, rape and kidnapping. The current law bans police from disclosing the faces of suspects, except in the case of an open investigation, according to the National Assembly Research Service.

The research service recently said that identity disclosure by the media can infringe on the ``innocent until proven guilty'' principle and undermine the human rights of suspects' family members.

The revision comes 13 years after the previous change in 1996. The association promoted the revision from the standpoint that the existing ethics do not meet the current media environment, along with rapidly developing information and communication technology and the wider use of the Internet. The new code will be confirmed after approval from the Korean Association of Newspapers and the Journalists Association of Korea.

In the meantime, the new code will have a new clause about reporting on suicide in order to strengthen the media's social responsibility. The code will recommend that media organizations refrain from reporting detailed descriptions of suicide methods. It is a measure designed to prevent the so-called Werther Effect, or copycat suicides.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr