{"id":2199201,"date":"2022-10-19T10:17:27","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T10:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199201"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:08","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:08","slug":"the-cost-of-south-korean-medias-obsession-with-vows-promises-and-pledges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/the-cost-of-south-korean-medias-obsession-with-vows-promises-and-pledges\/","title":{"rendered":"The cost of South Korean media\u2019s obsession with vows, promises and pledges"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korean journalists are far more likely to uncritically reproduce political statements, press releases and earning reports than their peers in other countries, rather than doing original reporting and investigation, <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> analysis of domestic news coverage shows.<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to an environment in which the government and corporations have outsized control when it comes to setting the news agenda and an environment in which quantity counts over quality, former newspaper staffers and commentators say there\u2019s little incentive for ROK journalists to dig below the surface of what\u2019s going on around them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Data uncovered by <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> shows that a majority of news stories in popular South Korean media outlets focus on three key categories of coverage: political statements, business earnings and various metrics that compare the ROK favorably to other countries. Much of this lacks pushback against or investigation of institutions’ claims, and often reads not dissimilar to press releases.<\/span><\/p>\n

What this means is that in the Korean news ecosystem, the subjects of thousands of articles published each year are effectively being decided by politicians, government agencies and businesses rather than by journalists themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A mic on a stand | Image: Pexels, edited by Korea Pro<\/p><\/div>\n

VOWS, PROMISES AND PLEDGES<\/b><\/p>\n

A large portion of Korean news is structured around a small number of headlines focusing on the vows, pledges and promises of senior officials, as well as their urging of others to take remedial actions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Data analyzed by <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> shows that several top ROK media outlets cover stories fitting this category of reporting \u2014 focusing on <\/span>future<\/span><\/i> political intent \u2014 over five times more frequently than a selection of comparative international peers across the entire history of their Google-searchable material.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coverage of vows, pledges, promises and urges \u2014 mainly stated by politicians and government officials \u2014 comprised an average of 10.88% of all published article titles on a selection of six Korean media websites. The same keywords only occurred in an average of 1.75% of all titles on a comparative selection of six international media outlets.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Data mined and assembled on Oct. 6, 2022 using Google advanced search | Image: Korea Pro<\/p><\/div>\n

Recent examples of such coverage in Korean outlets usually zoom in on comments by figures like President Yoon Suk-yeol or institutions like the Bank of Korea and include headlines that repeat the same themes month after month.<\/span><\/p>\n

Readers of South Korean news interested in North Korea will encounter mostly vanilla reporting about Yoon vowing, promising or pledging to <\/span>strengthen deterrence<\/span><\/a>, to <\/span>\u201csternly\u201d respond to \u201cprovocations\u201d<\/span><\/a> and to <\/span>thwart North Korea\u2019s nuclear ambitions<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alternatively, those interested in South Korea\u2019s economy will struggle to find anything but short spots about the Bank of Korea vowing and pledging to pursue \u201c<\/span>balanced policy<\/span><\/a>,\u201d \u201c<\/span>coordination<\/span><\/a>\u201d or \u201c<\/span>market stability<\/span><\/a>\u201d as inflation has continued to worsen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTerms like vows, urges, pledges, and promises are frequently used in Korean-language stories too, and I believe the English stories just reflect the way Korean media often quote high-ranking persons as stating things,\u201d said Raphael Rashid, a local media commentator and author of <\/span>The Korea We Refuse To See<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Yoon’s so-called doorstepping press conferences are an example: Every sentence he speaks becomes a separate headline about what he vows, urges, pledges or promises,\u201d Rashid explained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe same is true for other high-ranking officials,” he added. “It simply reflects the way journalism is done in Korean.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mike Breen, a journalist who has covered South Korea for decades, said the ROK\u2019s notoriously insular <\/span>press club system<\/span><\/a> likely contributes to the statements-as-news phenomenon.<\/span><\/p>\n

“While a reporter covering, say, defense in the U.K. would work from the newsroom and visit defense experts, the ministry, the various services, the arms industry etc., in Korea they actually work out of the Ministry of National Defense,\u201d he said. \u201cThere, they are spoon fed news through briefings and press releases.”<\/span><\/p>\n

This system incentivizes speed and scale rather than second-guessing and background research, Breen continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat would explain how people get away with vowing, promising and pledging and why there is no follow-up on those vows, promises and pledges,\u201d he said. \u201cThey get forgotten and overtaken by new vows.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A slow news cycle also might be contributing to local journalistic demand for coverage about the latest political statements and remarks, said Hyojin Kim, a former reporter at <\/span>The Korea Times.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThey use the terms like pledges, vows, etc. so much because there are not many issues worth being published daily,\u201d she said, noting that \u201cdaily news media and reporters are under pressure to make their stories sound newsworthy.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Kim added that these sorts of stories “give an impression that politicians [or the] government are working on something that would be introduced in the near future.”<\/span><\/p>\n

And because Korean politics is top down and revolves around prominent figures like party leaders, candidates and issue makers, \u201cthe news media think it is worthwhile to shed light on what they say rather than what the political parties would deliver,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether or not politicians or institutions in question follow through on their promises is “not the issue journalists care about.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Charts on a screen| Image: Pexels, edited by Korea Pro<\/p><\/div>\n

EARNINGS, GAINS AND GROWTH<\/b><\/p>\n

Another area of daily news coverage in South Korea that differs from that published by international outlets relates to articles about the earnings, gains and growth of domestic companies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this category, data obtained by <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> shows that the top Korean media outlets cover stories about Q1-Q4 earnings, gains and sales almost five times more frequently than a selection of comparative international peers across the full history of their Google-searchable content.<\/span><\/p>\n

These topics comprised an average of 27.40% of all published article titles on a selection of six Korean media websites, or one out of every four items. In contrast, the same keywords only occurred in an average of 5.88% of titles published in the six foreign media outlets.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Data mined and assembled on Oct. 6, 2022 using Google advanced search | Image: Korea Pro<\/p><\/div>\n

Recent stories of earnings-related coverage in Korean outlets typically includes little more than revenue announcements from the firm in question with little to no additional context, a sign the news story is a reprint of company press releases, according to the journalists interviewed by <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, \u201c<\/span>Naver\u2019s Q3 operating profit hits all-time high<\/span><\/a>\u201d, \u201c<\/span>Coupang achieves first-ever earnings surplus in 2nd quarter<\/span><\/a>\u201d and \u201c<\/span>LG Electronics Q3 profit estimated to have risen 25% on-year<\/span><\/a>\u201d are recent examples of business coverage citing just a single source: the businesses themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Author Rashid said that in South Korea it\u2019s common to find articles that are \u201calmost verbatim reproductions” of press releases issued by large Korean corporations.<\/span><\/p>\n

And due to the strong SEO performance of Korean media websites, Korean businesses are able to attract easy attention to press releases by getting local media to write-up their earnings, helping industry followers and business analysts keep up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For their part, \u201cit’s also no secret that the media in South Korea prefers to maintain positive relationships with major companies that rely on these English articles,\u201d leading to the reason for so much earnings news, Rashid said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Damin Jung, another former <\/span>Korea Times<\/span><\/i> journalist, said Korean journalists \u201cget massive amounts” of press materials and releases from private firms, and they may stand out as slow or even incompetent if they fail to report on this material “covered by many other reporters.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Mike Breen, the long-time Korea journalist, said another key issue is that journalists in the ROK are simply overworked and don\u2019t have time to critically assess the business releases they\u2019re working with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s no time to take the earnings info in the press release and then amplify the story with analysis and other information,\u201d he explained. \u201cIn fact, there’s not just no time: There’s no inclination because such dry factual information is acceptable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Kim said that it was important not to overlook the importance of business news in South Korea: \u201c(The) Korean economy is still led by several chaebol so how they are doing is still an important topic,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSouth Korean companies are the pivotal part of the global tech supply chain, whether that be car batteries, electric batteries, phone components, their performances are very important in the global economy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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A man points at a bar and line graph | Image: Lukas via Pexels, edited by Korea Pro<\/p><\/div>\n

RANKINGS OBSESSION<\/b><\/p>\n

The other area of regular news coverage from South Korea that\u2019s significantly different to international output relates to articles about changes to the nation\u2019s comparative global rankings.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this category, data obtained by <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> shows that Korean outlets cover news about rankings-related changes almost eight times more than the selection of six international peers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coverage of ranking-related terms comprised an average of 21.37% of all published article titles on a selection of six Korean media websites across the entirety of their Google-searchable material. In contrast, the same keywords only occurred in an average of 2.76% of titles published in the six foriegn media outlets referenced for comparison.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Data mined and assembled on Oct. 6, 2022 using Google advanced search | Image: Korea Pro<\/p><\/div>\n

Recent examples of headlines for such rankings-related news include:<\/span><\/p>\n