Chang Min-ho, the head of the spy ring dubbed Il-shim-huway, is not simply another overseas Korean suspected of being a spy. Since entering the country in 1993 immediately after joining North Korea’s Workers’ Party, Chang formed lines of personal contact while working as a department manager at what is now the Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He then cemented his foothold as a successful businessman in the IT industry serving, among others, as president of Game TV. He was so firmly established that he was among the list of some 300 people the ruling camp under the Kim Dae-jung administration considered for recruitment ahead of the 2000 presidential election. Last year, he became the CEO of a firm in which the second largest shareholder of a major terrestrial broadcaster invested

During this period, there was also a push from Roh’s government and certain interested parties to create a new broadcast media committee, one that the Korean Broadcasting Commission felt could “damage the independence of broadcasting”. This “super committee was to incorporate the newer forms of media such as DMB broadcasting with other media. The head of this committee is selected by the president. Needless to say, since LMB was elected, the UDP has been highly critical of his nominee for the head of this committee, thus the leftists missed the chance to use this new tool.

Considering the above, there is very much an interest in dominating new media by the left and now, more of an attempt to discredit the big three papers as a source of legitimate news in this war of information. Considering the ties of these papers with chaebol (big money) and the upcoming financially difficult times that I foresee, one consequence may be that these papers may find their role as legitimate news sources further eroded by events — maybe.

P.S. I’m sorry if this is a bit sloppy but I hope it explains a bit more of my observations.

This ideological difference does have its roots in the division between the north and south, though people and scenarios have changed over time. Especially now, with both conservatives and leftists protesting at the same time, in front of city hall, the zeitgeist is resembling Korea in the late forties more and more in terms of having a radically divided populace.

The three big papers do reflect a bias which has been labeled as conservative for more than a few reasons however, the current attack upon them is more an ongoing war of influence over opposing ideologies. Information and its dissemination is a very important thing since it shapes pubic sentiment; sentiment from which a democratic leader must take their cues from. As can be demonstrated in China, the control of information is synonymous to the control of a nation’s people and helps maintain a sense of legitimacy.

During Roh’s tenure, the so called left in South Korea have attempted to use the newer forms of media and alternatives to the three main papers to influence the public since the big three papers were more often conservative in bias. The election of Roh and the text messaging and use of the internet actually had a profound effect upon the outcome, leading to Roh’s victory. As per Kim Shin Dong, an associate professor of communication at Hallym University, Korea, and Director for the iCat Institute:

Roh’s opponent, Lee Hoe-chang, had long enjoyed solid support from most of the conservative newspapers that dominate the nation’s media. However, Nosamo’s active campaign successfully attracted media attention and turned public support towards Roh Moo-hyun.

Alternative information channels on the web, such as Ohmynews and Pressian, proved to be an effective counter balance to mainstream journalism.

On polling day, Nosamo members and young supporters of Roh launched an extensive mobile phone campaign encouraging their friends to come out and cast votes. It was widely accepted, after the election, that Roh’s victory owed much to the use of new media.

To summarize and cut this short, I still see this attack on the big three as also being a part of the ongoing struggle that many South Koreans try to forget but is still out there.

I would also add that South Korea and North Korea really are still at war and this is more so a part of that extended campaign — sad to observe.