ABSTRACT
Investigative journalism has been restrained for almost a decade during the right-leaning conservative governments. According to press freedom advocate Reporters Without Borders, South Korea’s overall press freedom ranking has slipped during the conservative governments of Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye. During that time, dozens of Korean journalists were removed from news organizations due to their participation in labor union strikes or their critical and defiant views toward government policies.
Departing from partisan tendencies of being left or right, Korean news media and a group of journalists played a crucial role in helping to impeach and remove President Park Geun-hye from office. Hankyoreh Shinmun, JTBC, and TV Chosun persistently revealed a series of investigative reporting news stories. The journalists contributed to exposing one of the biggest political scandals, sparking nationwide public protests, and finally reclaiming their journalistic pride as adversarial agents against a corrupt government.
