Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr
JTBC president grilled over alleged theft of poll results
By Lee Kyung-min
Sohn Suk-hee
By Lee Kyung-min
Police Tuesday questioned the president of cable channel JTBC, Sohn Suk-hee, over allegations that he used the results of exit polls conducted by three broadcasting companies without their permission in his news program.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), Sohn, who is also the anchor of the program, is suspected of using poll results from KBS, MBC and SBS while reporting on local elections in June of last year.
Police will ask how he obtained the results of the exit polls and whether any illegality was involved in the process.
Appearing before the SMPA, Sohn said he will cooperate fully with the investigation.
“It is disputable whether questioning me about this matter is appropriate, but I will answer truthfully regardless,” he told reporters.
His questioning came 10 months after the three broadcasting companies filed a complaint with the prosecution, claiming that their business rights were greatly violated due to Sohn’s unauthorized use of the data.
“More than 2 billion won ($1.7 million) was spent conducting the exit polls. He practically stole our hard-earned results,” they claimed in the complaint. “We demand to know how our work ended up appearing on their news.”
JTBC said using the information involved no illegality as the report included proper citation for the three companies.
“We cited the names of the companies. We used it after their report was over. Nothing we did was illegal,” a JTBC official said.