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KBS Exposed for Poor Ethics of News Resources Protection

기사승인 [394호] 2022.05.12  

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   During an interview with representatives from the Korean volunteer army on March 28, KBS News, a public broadcaster, released details that disclosed the location of two service members currently serving voluntarily in Ukraine. The broadcasters were criticized for their lack of discretion by the public. Since the incident, KBS has posted a public apology and deleted all related articles. However, criticism over the conduct of the newsmaker has continued, stating they were insensitive to the need to protect their news sources.

▲ KBS has made a coverage which exposed the volunteer army of Korea location. (Photo from KBS)

   The controversy flared anew when KBS attempted to explain its actions. They claimed the location mark they used was just a graphic, not an exact location. However, people pointed out that the background of the interview was clearly the interior of the Lviv Hotel in Ukraine, which was the same location marked in the broadcast by KBS. With renewed criticism launched at the public network, representatives were forced to release another statement saying, "The interview took place last week, and the Korean volunteer army moved to another region the day after the interview." However, this was not enough to satisfy the critics and a petition calling for disciplinary action and an apology from the journalists involved was drawn up. In response, Lim Jang-won, a director in the newsroom at KBS reporting headquarters, apologized for their carelessness and pledged to put more effort into the security of their sources in the future.

▲ The Interview Scene Which Showed the Volunteer Army of Korea's Location (Photo from KBS)

   The issue raised the alert because media posts and SNS comments are being used in modern warfare by militaries, to garner information about their enemies and target their location for attacks and also to distribute false or misleading information about them to win the hearts and minds of the public. This means the lapse in judgment by KBS, can affect the lives of the Korean volunteers in profound ways. It is the responsibility of the media to protect the safety of its news sources, especially when the actions of those involved are controversial. The ethics of protecting news sources is a classic discourse topic in media studies. However, the carelessness of KBS demonstrates our weakness in this domain.

   The Dankook Herald (DKH) interviewed Professor Kim Ji-won, from the School of Communications, about ethics in Korean journalism. Professor Kim pointed out that it is the public interest for news media to protect their sources because they often require anonymity in order to provide sensitive data or reveal any internal corruption. This is common practice around the world and is known as whistleblower protection. Though it cannot be confirmed whether the Korean volunteer army representatives approved the content of the KBS report, the broadcaster still should be accountable for maintaining the ethics of good journalism practices.

   Protecting the identity of at-risk sources is not a new concept for journalists. When the government launched its anti-corruption agency the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) in 2021, the law creating the new office granted investigators and other law enforcement bodies the power to access phone records from telecommunication companies without notifying the target of the investigation, and without prior permission from the courts. Over 120 journalists soon discovered their phone records were accessed with no notification or justification for the actions. They protested as the protection of their confidential sources was at risk. They argued the power of the CIO undermines their own ethics of operations. If anyone can access this data, the protection they offer their sources is rendered negligible.

   KBS is a public broadcasting station, but they did not act in the best interest of the public. They did not account for the consequences of their information disclosure and the security of our citizens when they revealed the location of their sources to the world. Koreans are disappointed in their conduct, which clearly overlooked a fundamental principle of journalism, the protection and safety of their sources. This is something the media has been fighting for already in the case of the abuse by the CIO. It is clear that the time is now for everyone to address the need for anonymity of news sources and enhance their security before it becomes a barrier for ordinary people to come forward and help inform the public of news that affects their lives.

김주예, 이진희, 전준형 dankookherald@gmail.com

<저작권자 © The Dankook Herald 무단전재 및 재배포금지>
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