Samsung accused of strong-arming Korean media to suppress coverage of unfavorable film
At least one Korean newspaper is thought to have been pressured by Samsung into retracting stories that make mention of a new movie following the life and death of a worker at one of the Korean conglomerate's semiconductor plants.
A still from Another Promise
The accusations stem from a string of text messages in which Park Jung-kyu, president of the Korean-language NewDaily Biz, indicated that he ordered an article detailing the film's distribution struggles removed after speaking with Samsung staff. The messages appear to have been intended for contacts inside Samsung but were mistakenly sent to reporters at a different newspaper, according to The Verge.
Entitled "Another Promise," the film is a depiction of the legal struggle between Samsung and the father of 23-year-old Hwang Yu-mi, who contracted leukemia while working at a Samsung factory in Suwon after being exposed to toxic chemicals. The character portrayed in the film works for a fictional company called "Jinsung," apparently too close a resemblance for Samsung's liking.
"To fix the trust issue between Samsung Group and NewDaily, I plan to do my best. I spoke with Park Jong-moon, who told me that Samsung was upset about the Another Promise article we published last month," Park wrote, referring to a Feb. 5 story about Korean celebrities that were personally funding screenings.
"After looking into the details, I have directly ordered to take the post down. The columnist didn't have any ill intent, and the senior managers didn't notice it at all," he added.
Park has since said that he ordered the post taken down because it was a duplicate that contained information already published by the paper, and that Samsung played no part in its removal.
Samsung also rebuffed the charges, telling The Verge in a statement that they "categorically deny any allegation that Samsung tries to exert influence over media coverage, including of this movie. The fact is that the movie has already been widely covered by domestic and global media since before its release in early February. The allegation concerning the article in question is clearly groundless."
A still from Another Promise
The accusations stem from a string of text messages in which Park Jung-kyu, president of the Korean-language NewDaily Biz, indicated that he ordered an article detailing the film's distribution struggles removed after speaking with Samsung staff. The messages appear to have been intended for contacts inside Samsung but were mistakenly sent to reporters at a different newspaper, according to The Verge.
Entitled "Another Promise," the film is a depiction of the legal struggle between Samsung and the father of 23-year-old Hwang Yu-mi, who contracted leukemia while working at a Samsung factory in Suwon after being exposed to toxic chemicals. The character portrayed in the film works for a fictional company called "Jinsung," apparently too close a resemblance for Samsung's liking.
"To fix the trust issue between Samsung Group and NewDaily, I plan to do my best. I spoke with Park Jong-moon, who told me that Samsung was upset about the Another Promise article we published last month," Park wrote, referring to a Feb. 5 story about Korean celebrities that were personally funding screenings.
"After looking into the details, I have directly ordered to take the post down. The columnist didn't have any ill intent, and the senior managers didn't notice it at all," he added.
Park has since said that he ordered the post taken down because it was a duplicate that contained information already published by the paper, and that Samsung played no part in its removal.
Samsung also rebuffed the charges, telling The Verge in a statement that they "categorically deny any allegation that Samsung tries to exert influence over media coverage, including of this movie. The fact is that the movie has already been widely covered by domestic and global media since before its release in early February. The allegation concerning the article in question is clearly groundless."
Comments
That does seem to be their MO.
It's not surprising considering Samsung all but owns South Korea.
Is anyone really surprised by this? Between Samsung, Hyundai, Kia, those three companies own South Korea and it's people.
Really! Are there any surprises to come out of Facsimile Sam?
LOL... If AppleInsider removed articles because it has already reported the same information, it might post just one article per week.
I saw this story on The Verge via Flipboard around 6:30 AM this morning. Here is the response I wrote... The South Korean press is not alone in being managed by Samsung. The USA press is just as well-managed by Samsung. This story will not last long and it definitely will not be picked up by every news agency looking for sensationalistic clicks. So far this is the second place I have read this story. None of the other Web sites that have articles in the Flipboard app have run with the story.
I saw this story on The Verge via Flipboard around 6:30 AM this morning. Here is the response I wrote... The South Korean press is not alone in being managed by Samsung. The USA press is just as well-managed by Samsung. This story will not last long and it definitely will not be picked up by every news agency looking for sensationalistic clicks. So far this is the second place I have read this story. None of the other Web sites that have articles in the Flipboard app have run with the story.
I disagree! A story like this is going to be picked up by every news source in the world and splattered on every headline.
You just have to replace the word "Samsung" with "Apple"...
That does seem to be their MO.
Yes - Apple answers questions with "We don't comment on future products" or ""Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
Samsung's answer to every question is "We categorically deny any allegation."
Is anyone really surprised by this? Between Samsung, Hyundai, Kia, those three companies own South Korea and it's people.
not as cut and dry as that. couple of years ago something larger than this happened, and there was supposed to be an investigation. but samsung somehow got out of it. because of that most people in Korea do not trust samsung.
and kia is not powerful at all.
you want to talk about a news cover up- look at the U.S. presidential administration.
written by a guy who lives in Seoul.
Well, the other Korea just got slammed for crimes against humanity, so at least that’s progress.
But something tells me that Samsung will be allowed to go on like this at least until the Korean War comes to an end and Seoul is bombed.
I thought most of the country is employed by the chaebol.
Ha! Default answer from both companies.