Lawyer Bae Geum-ja, claimed in an article titled "Objections to Prosecutors' Suing the Media for Libel" in the January issue of 'Citizens and Lawyers' that public prosecutors suing the press for huge amounts of punitive damages is a clear threat to freedom of speech and press freedom. Bae said that the number of prosecutors' suing the press has totaled 11 claiming W11.35 billion since 1999 while the number who filed lawsuits stood at 91, 8% of the total in the prosecution.
She noted that all countries around the world secure the basic rights for press freedom and the libeling of public servants, but they put priority of press freedom over the latter, limiting suing the press by civil servants. "A country less developed by democracy has abused the related libel laws to block just criticism by the press on conspiracies by public servants," she said, adding that she found many countries which ban government agencies suing the press for libel.
Bae continued, "Since 1964, when the Federal Supreme Court of the United States ruled no one could ban a debate on public issues, allowing sharp criticism on the government and officials, the privilege of exemption for the press has been largely expanded in lawsuits for libel. Since then, England, Australia, India, Taiwan, Pakistan and the Republic of South Africa have adopted the same ruling in judgments."
She said in Korea, however, most cases of public servants' lawsuits for libel are related with the press reports on public affairs, such as government officials' abuse of power and conspiracy, but the court demands the press should be responsible for proof of its innocence, which makes the press lose most cases. Moreover, some civic organizations have a tendency to defend lawsuits against the press. She voiced concerns that such trend will make the press unable to function as an objective observer and critic.
(Ahn Seok-bae, sbahn@chosun.com)
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