By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter
President-elect Lee Myung-bak's power transition team has come under fire for apparently trying to gauge the political propensity of senior journalists through an investigation.
In an apparent bid to influence news reporting, a ranking transition team official, identified only as Park, was reportedly ordered to investigate the political propensity and educational backgrounds of senior journalists at major newspaper and broadcasting companies.
Though the transition team said a director general of the committee conducted the action personally, the possibility of more members' involvement was not excluded.
A secretary of the president-elect was quoted by CBS online news, as saying, ``We found that a staff member of the transition team directed some working-level officials to collect information about senior journalists.''
The United New Democratic Party (UNDP) cast suspicion Sunday on the media policy of the coming Lee Myung-bak administration.
``If President-elect Lee is trying to trace journalists' political spectrum, this is a serious threat to a free press,'' UNDP spokesman Woo Sang-ho said.
Lee's secretary, as well as his spokesmen stressed that the president-elect was not concerned with the scheme.
But Rep. Woo of the UNDP said it was hard to believe the excuse that the practice was pushed by a low-ranking official.
In his meeting with staffers, President-elect Lee said the next government will not tolerate such practices, saying, ``It is necessary (for me and my team) to check up details.''
Last month, committee chairwoman Lee Kyung-sook said her team will push for a ``media-friendly'' policy, vowing the restoration of pressrooms at ministries closed under President Roh Moo-hyun's controversial media policy.
Apart from criticism at home, the incumbent Roh government was warned by an international association of journalists last year for infringing on media freedom.