Six former journalists gathered for the press screening of documentary “Seven Years -- Journalism Without Journalist” at CGV Wangsimni in Seoul on Tuesday.
The documentary traces the unfair firing of 14 journalists -- some of whom were restored to their positions after court rulings -- in their seven-year battle against their employers, state-owned broadcaster MBC and partially state-owned broadcaster YTN.
“Administrations have strategically stifled state-owned media,” said Choi Seung-ho, a former producer at MBC. “That has led to the people’s mistrust in media and news. I’m sure that many established media outlets are able to feel, these days, how low people’s faith in them has sunk. It is the role of the journalists at state-owned broadcasters to at least try and affect change from the inside.”
(Rumy Doo / The Korea Herald)
The journalists were laid off after protesting the appointments of Bae Seok-kyu, who served as YTN’s president from 2009 to 2015, and Kim Jae-chul, who served as MBC’s president from 2010 until 2013. They argued that the appointments made based on Bae and Kim’s ties to the government, ran counter to the media’s obligation to objectivity.
The film traces their protests, both physical and legal and some of which are still ongoing. It opens in theaters on Jan. 12.
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