Press room refers to a place provided by government agencies, political parties, corporations, etc., for reporters. The group of reporters who are stationed in these press rooms is called the press corps (出入記者團) or reporter corps (出入處記者團), often shortened to just the press corps. In Japan, such organizations are referred to as kisha clubs. This article explains the press rooms and press corps of the South Korean Government (hereafter referred to as press rooms or press corps).
Government department press rooms were operated under a reporter access system, where reporters had to join the press corps to use the press rooms. Membership in the press corps was mostly limited to newspaper and broadcast companies. The exclusive and closed operation of press rooms faced constant criticism, and as the number of media outlets increased rapidly with the spread of the internet, conflicts surrounding press room management surfaced. In 2003, the Roh Moo-hyun administration introduced the open briefing room system, effectively abolishing government press rooms. Media outlets and reporters fiercely opposed this and had conflicts with the government. After Lee Myung-bak was elected president, the Presidential Transition Committee decided to restore the press rooms.
History From the 1920s, both Korean and Japanese reporters began forming press corps at government agencies (출입처) under the influence of Japan's Kisha Club. Organizations like Gwanghwa Club, composed of reporters covering the Chōsen Government-General Communications Bureau and its officials, and Ewha Club, created by reporters covering the Iwangjik, were established.Kim Nam-seok, Formation and Status of the Press Corps and Press Room System, 《Kwanhun Journal》, Spring 2001. After Korean liberation, reporters began forming press corps at institutions run by the United States Army Military Government in Korea.Seong Gi-cheol, "A Study on the Impact of the Open Briefing System on Coverage and Reporting: A Comparative Analysis of First-Page Articles in Major Daily Newspapers from 1998 and 2003," 2004, p. 22.
The media environment remained largely unchanged through the 1950s, but after the May 16 coup in 1961, the media landscape shifted dramatically. Following the April Revolution, an influx of media companies led to the rise of illegitimate reporters, and corruption in the press corps became well known, fueling negative perceptions of the media. The military government used this as justification to label the media as corrupt and sought to exert strict control.Seong Gi-cheol, ibid., 2004, p. 23. The Park Chung-hee administration arbitrarily limited the number of reporters permitted at Cheong Wa Dae to facilitate media control and established a press room there in 1963. The so-called agrément system was introduced, where the Cheong Wa Dae administration approved press room access. Since there was no alternative way for reporters to obtain press releases, they had little choice but to comply with the government's policies. This practice of covering official statements from government spokespersons became standard, and in 1967, the government institutionalized this by officially placing public information officers in each ministry.
In 1972, the Park Chung-hee government issued press cards to all reporters, each with a unique identification number,"A Press Card System to Sweep Away Fake Reporters", 《Dong-a Ilbo》, February 8, 1972. and restricted the issuance of these cards to reduce the number of reporters.Lee Young-seok, "A Study on the Changes in Media Policies of South Korea’s Past Governments," Hannam University Graduate School of Social and Cultural Sciences, 2004, p. 49. Press cards were not issued to reporters for weekly or monthly magazines, further reinforcing a system centered on daily newspapers and broadcasters from Seoul. The exclusive and closed use of press rooms became even more entrenched. After the introduction of press cards, the Park government reduced the number of press rooms in government ministries from 47 to 18 and cut the number of reporters allowed from 790 to 465.
The press room system became even more firmly established during the Chun Doo-hwan administration as part of its media policies. The government reduced the number of media outlets through the 1980 media consolidation, and established a system of effective information control through the use of reporting guidelines. However, the remaining media outlets were granted preferential treatment, allowing them to maintain dominant positions in the market. This eliminated competition among media outlets, and the press rooms and press corps transformed into exclusive organizations that shared privileges rather than serving as mechanisms for news reporting.
Following the June 29 Declaration and the subsequent establishment of a direct presidential election system, the media landscape rapidly changed once again after the inauguration of the Roh Tae-woo administration in 1988. Competition intensified with the launch of new newspapers and the revival of old ones, and instances of breaking the news embargo became more frequent. During this time, previously hidden practices such as reporters accepting money or hospitality (chonji) became widely known.Seong Gi-cheol, ibid., 2004, p. 24. In 1991, the press corps covering the Ministry of Health and Welfare collected about 88.5 million won from pharmaceutical companies, confectionery companies, cosmetics companies, and organizations such as the Daewoo Foundation and Hyundai Asan Foundation under the guise of Chuseok holiday bonuses and travel expenses. This event became known as the “Ministry of Health and Welfare chonji incident.”Kim Ju-eon, "How to Reform the Press Corps?" Kwanhun Journal, Summer 2001. In a rare move, the implicated media outlets issued apologies and statements,"Ministry of Health and Welfare Press Room Chonji Incident Causes Stir", 《Maeil Business Newspaper》, November 2, 1991."Media Ethics and Social Responsibility", 《Dong-a Ilbo》, November 2, 1991. and newspapers such as Chosun Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo declared they would withdraw from or not join the press corps.Park Geun-ae, "Media Responses Following the Ministry of Health and Welfare Chonji Incident", 《Hankyoreh》, November 8, 1991. However, these declarations were eventually forgotten, and the media outlets rejoined the press corps.Oh Sang-seok, "The Press and Media Ethics Code in the Field", read on January 7, 2008.
To eliminate the downsides of the press room system, the Roh Moo-hyun administration introduced the open briefing room system in 2003. The government press rooms, which had operated under a closed reporter access system, were opened and converted into briefing rooms and transmission roomsAccording to the 〈Rules on the Registration of Reporters at Cheong Wa Dae〉, in order to engage in reporting activities at Cheong Wa Dae, reporters must be recommended by member companies of the Korea News Editors' Association, Korean Broadcasting Association, Journalists Association of Korea, Internet Newspaper Association, Internet Reporters' Association, Korean Press Photographers Association, Korea TV Camera Journalists Association, Korea Online Newspaper Association, or the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club. operated under a registration system.As of 2007, the terms press room, briefing room, and transmission room were used interchangeably, but press rooms, accessible only to members of the press corps, are fundamentally different from briefing rooms and transmission rooms, which can be used freely by registered reporters from various ministries. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism was the first to open its press room on April 16, 2003, and other ministries gradually followed. However, some ministries' transmission rooms became monopolized by press corps members, resembling the previous exclusive press rooms.1. 취재지원 선진화 방안에 대하여, 《청와대브리핑》, 2007년 7월 13일, 2007-09-14.
However, during the process of the 2007 presidential election, this issue came to light, leading prominent presidential candidates such as Jeong Dong-young, Lee Myung-bak, Kwon Young-gil, Lee In-je, Moon Kook-hyun, and Lee Hoi-chang to oppose the Roh Moo-hyun administration's open briefing room system. In particular, Jeong Dong-young, who had served as the Minister of Unification during the Roh administration, stated, "I agree with the intention, but I do not agree with the current method of execution. Freedom of the press must be guaranteed to prevent the bureaucratic society from suffering from arteriosclerosis. We will ensure access to fulfill the people's right to know." He expressed his opposition.Kim Jeong-wook, “All six presidential candidates responded that if they were elected, they would restore the press rooms”, 《JoongAng Ilbo》, November 16, 2007. The elected President Lee Myung-bak and the transition committee decided to eliminate the press support advancement measures of the Roh administration and restore the press rooms of each ministry. They also decided to abolish the National Security Office, which promoted this.Han Min-soo, “Abolition of the National Security Office and restoration of press rooms”, 《Kookmin Ilbo》, January 3, 2008.
On January 24, 2011, the Ministry of National Defense requested the press corps to delay reporting in consideration of the safety of the crew of the Samho Jewelry, who were kidnapped by Somali pirates, during the execution of the "Operation Aden Gulf." After the first rescue operation failed on January 18, the Busan Ilbo broke the embargo on January 20 and reported the incident, which was quoted by Media Today. On the 21st, Asia Today also reported the incident. The Ministry of National Defense requested the deletion of the article, and the Busan Ilbo deleted the article posted on its website, but Media Today and Asia Today refused to delete it.Lee Mun-young, “The media controversy over the embargo violation of the Aden Gulf operation”, 《Hankyoreh》, January 24, 2011. The Ministry of National Defense indefinitely suspended the press room access for reporters from the media that violated the embargo and ceased distributing press materials. Additionally, they sent a letter requesting sanctions to other ministries. As a result, the Blue House canceled the press registration of reporters from Asia Today and Media Today and banned the reporter from the Busan Ilbo from entering the press room for one month. Asia Today opposed the Blue House's actions and filed a cancellation request and a provisional injunction against the cancellation of the press registration at the Seoul Administrative Court. The Blue House and Asia Today accepted the court's mediation recommendation and reduced the penalty to a two-month suspension of access for Asia Today's reporter.Jang Woo-sung, , Korean Journalist Association, February 21, 2011.