Again, I find myself raising concern about an article in The Korea Times which appears to be biased and not well reported. An Aug. 3 article, “Cheong Wa Dae poised to downsize overseas PR office,” gives the impression that Sohn Ji-ae's tenure in the office was a failure.
As a bureau chief and foreign correspondent that is hardly my impression.
The hiring of a former correspondent who is fluent in English for such a post was positive and unprecedented.
Sohn made herself available without hesitation to be quoted in English, be it on the floor of the G20 or on the phone at odd hours _ hardly the sort of engagement we routinely enjoy with government spokespeople.
For this story why didn't you also reach out to any correspondent or Sohn for a comment rather than merely relying on disgruntled anonymous sources and an unnamed Korean journalist?
This gives an unfair impression of the effectiveness of the overseas PR office, which personally I and many of my colleagues found of significant value for obtaining the Republic of Korea government’s viewpoint on numerous issues in a timely manner during the past year.
Steven L. Herman
Voice of America
radiotokyo@gmail.com
Voice of America
radiotokyo@gmail.com
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