South Korea falls to 62nd place in press freedom index

gettyimagesbank

South Korea dropped significantly to 62nd place in the annual global press freedom index, down from 47th place the previous year. Meanwhile, North Korea was rated as one of the most brutal persecutors of journalists.

According to the ranking unveiled Friday by Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based NGO focused on press freedom, South Korea scored 64.87 points out of 100 and was rated as one of the problematic countries, along with Italy (69.8), the United States (66.59) and Japan (62.12).

Based on its analysis of the level of freedom enjoyed by media employees in 180 countries and territories, the organization divides them into five brackets: good (85-100), satisfactory (70-85), problematic (55-70), difficult (40-55) and very serious (0-40).

“While journalists can work in generally satisfactory conditions (in South Korea), they are sometimes victims of online harassment, a practice against which they have little protection. About 30 percent of the journalists who took part in the 2023 Korea Press Foundation survey said they have been victims of harassment in relation to their profession,” the report says.

“The most prominent form of harassment was via phone calls, text messages and emails, while comments from Internet ‘trolls’ and malicious legal actions were also prevalent. More than 40 percent of harassed journalists said they didn’t receive adequate support from their employers, indicating a need for legal support,” it added.

North Korea ranked 177th, after Eritrea, Syria and Afghanistan. China and Russia, which came in 172nd and 162nd, respectively, were also among the countries near the bottom of the table.

“As a result of the regime’s desire for complete isolation from the world, journalists have been arrested, deported, sent to forced labor camps, and killed for deviating from the party’s narrative,” the report says. “In 2017, the government even sentenced South Korean journalists to death in absentia for only commenting on the country’s economic and social situation.”

Norway retained the top spot this year. Denmark came in second, followed by Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Estonia and Portugal.