Samsung downsizes assistance to journalists

By Kim Yoo-chul

Samsung Press Foundation, a Samsung-affiliated public foundation that runs support programs for professional journalists based in Korea, said Tuesday it will scale down its activities.

“Samsung Press Foundation will discontinue four major programs the foundation has been operating since 1996,” it said. “The decision was approved at a board meeting.”

The programs being axed are the Samsung Journalism Awards, the Study Abroad Program for Korean Journalists, the Study Foreign Language Program and the Thematic Study Abroad Program.

“Amid the changing landscape of the media industry, it is necessary for the foundation to reset its role,” it said.

The foundation has been criticized for Samsung's “oversized influence” on the local media industry after the leak of text messages executives of mainstream Korean media sent to Samsung executives during the latest trial of the company's de facto leader, Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

While it is controversial to say the mainstream media colluded with Samsung to “buy insurance” in correcting negative articles with the help of journalists who benefited from the programs, civic groups claim the close relationship between the media and Samsung affiliates is a violation of journalistic integrity.

“The leakage of text messages between Samsung executives and those in the domestic mainstream media shone new light on the depths of Samsung's media influence,” an official said. “Tuesday's decision was its answer to completely cut off debate on the issue.”

The press foundation was established in 1995 by Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, who has been hospitalized since 2014 following a heart attack. Lee initially donated $10 million to the foundation.

By 2016, 334 Korean journalists from 124 teams have been awarded Samsung journalism awards. More than 200 Korean journalists benefited from its one-year study abroad program, the foundation said on its website.

But the press foundation said it will continue supporting journalism seminars and forums as those programs lack a screening process for recipients.

In a related note, the LG Sangnam Press Foundation, another major press foundation, said it has no plans to discontinue its support programs for Korean journalists, including a study abroad program, “for the time being.”

The LG foundation suspended the programs temporarily after the “Kim Young-ran Act” became effective in September 2016, but resumed them in February this year. The act bars public officials, journalists and teachers from accepting a meal or any kind of “favor” worth more than 50,000 won, or about $46, if there is a potential conflict of interest.