The Hankook Ilbo makes a new start

Seung Myung-ho, second from right in the front row, chairman of The Hankook Ilbo, applauds with guests during a ceremony to announce a new start for the sister paper of The Korea Times, at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Tuesday, marking the 61st anniversary of its founding. The guests in the first row include French Ambassador Jerome Pasquier, left; German Ambassador Rolf Mafael, second from left; and Rep. Moon Jae-in, right, chairman of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy. Rep. Kim Moo-sung, chairman of the ruling Saenuri Party, is seen at right in the second row. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Seung Myung-ho, chairman of The Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, has vowed to do his utmost to help the newspaper continue to play a role as a prominent media outlet by publishing balanced stories.

During a speech to a reception to celebrate the vernacular daily’s 61st anniversary of its foundation and declare a new start for it at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Tuesday, he unveiled the core values of the “new” Hankook Ilbo under his leadership.

Seung, concurrently CEO of Dongwha Group, became chairman of the paper in February after the group took over the vernacular daily.

He said The Hankook Ilbo will seek balanced content following its 61-year legacy and stand firm against any unjust activities and corruption.

However, he stressed that the paper won’t criticize things merely for the sake of criticism.

“The Hankook Ilbo will also place a priority on humanitarianism, and produce stories that can influence society and make a difference for the community. It will care about socially underprivileged groups,” he said.

“As a media outlet, the paper will also try to find its role to resolve such social problems as youth unemployment. We will do our part to rebuild the middle class that has been weakened,” he added.

Nearly 1,000 guests joined the celebration of the re-launch of the newspaper. They included National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa; Rep. Kim Moo-sung, chairman of the ruling Saenuri Party; and Rep. Moon Jae-in, chairman of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy.

Several Cabinet ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea, foreign ambassadors and business leaders of local and multinational corporations also participated in the celebrations.

During a speech, Chung shared his memory of the newspaper when he was growing up in the southern port city of Busan. Back then, he said, The Hankook Ilbo was an unrivaled newspaper in Korea.

“I hope that The Hankook Ilbo will restore its past glory under its new leadership,” he said.

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert said the re-launch of the newspaper was a great opportunity to celebrate the freedom of the press.

“The United States, just like the Republic of Korea, has had a long journalistic tradition,” he said.