Following up in the spirit of my post about the return of the pardoned-criminal chief of Samsung Electronics, the LA Times reports on an expat writer here who is being sued for breaking Korea’s libel law, which is notoriously anti-free speech.
The writer, Michael Breen, wrote satire that made references to Samsung’s hereditary structure and past allegations of widespread bribery. I can’t find the original anymore. The Korea Times, who originally published the piece, had to run a retraction to get themselves removed from the lawsuit.
Legal experts here say the case underscores the considerable power wielded in South Korean society by such mammoth corporate conglomerates, known as chaebols, which are dominated by top officials, often related, who are treated here as near-royalty.
Most critical stories run in smaller media less dependent on ads from big companies. Major media reports are mostly limited to breaking news of prosecutions of chaebol leaders but seldom probe deeper, critics say.
“Samsung has financial power over the press. They’re their own sanctuary where no one can intervene or criticize them,” said Kim Keon-ho, an official at the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice.
