On the 22nd, while the police conducted a search and seizure of the Chosun Ilbo newspaper bureau in connection with the controversy over collateral manipulation, 12 members of the ruling and opposition lawmakers said, “We must not miss this opportunity that could be the first and last.” requested Earlier, on March 18, about 30 members of the ruling and opposition lawmakers filed a complaint against the ABC Association and the Chosun Ilbo on charges of violating the National Subsidy Act and fraud.
On the morning of the 26th, Rep. Kim Nam-guk, Kim Seung-won, Kim Yong-min, Min Hyeong-bae, Yoo Jeong-ju, Yoon Young-deok, Lee Su-jin (dongjak), Lee Tan-hee, Jang Kyung-tae, Choi Hye-young, Hwang Un-ha, and Open Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Kang-wook held a press conference and said, “Finally, the National Investigation Headquarters has six Chosun Ilbo. Newspaper bureau raids were conducted. I pay my respects to the National Investigation Headquarters, who conducted the investigation in accordance with the principle, even though it is a big deal.” After welcoming, “This investigation is simple. Since the monthly subscription fee of the Chosun Ilbo is 15,000 won, you can find out the facts by just checking that about 15 billion won of 1 million copies is deposited into the Chosun Ilbo head office account every month through the Chosun Ilbo branch.”
Previously, the ABC Association announced that 1.16 million copies, or 96%, of the 1.21 million copies issued by the Chosun Ilbo in 2020 were paid copies, and the Chosun Ilbo received government subsidies such as newspaper mailing costs as well as government advertising expenses of 7.16 billion won last year. did. At the time of the accusation in March, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won said, “If the Chosun Ilbo received subsidies and government advertisements from the government with 1.16 million paid copies last year, but only half of the paid copies were received, half of the paid copies were fraudulent. pertains to,” he asserted.
Earlier, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on March 16th that the ABC Association office audit announced that “there was a significant difference between the oil price and sincerity rate announced by the ABC Association and the actual oil price and sincerity rate.” The ratio of paid copies to the number of publications) was 62.99%, and the average faithfulness ratio (the gap between the number of newspaper reports and the results of the ABC Association sample office ancillary construction results) was 55.37%.” According to the ABC Association, the Chosun Ilbo oil price rate last year was 96% and the faithfulness rate was 98%. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stopped using the ABC Association’s paid copies in July.
Twelve members of the National Assembly asserted, “As the manipulation of oil prices by major media outlets and the ABC Association has been an open secret of the industry for decades, the circumstances of the manipulation will overflow.” However, at the same time, “During the eight-month hiatus when the investigation did not proceed after the accusation, reports continue to come in that the Chosun Ilbo destroyed the data in each newspaper and replaced it with false or falsified information,” he said. The possibility of extinction cannot be ruled out,” he said.
Accordingly, the police proceeded from this search and seizure, △Forensic investigation into the newspaper’s hard disk, △Existence of false or falsified information △Who ordered and through what process the manipulation was carried out △Finally, about 15 billion won per month was collected from the Chosun Ilbo branch. He emphasized that it is necessary to thoroughly check that the funds have been deposited into the account through the
Meanwhile, lawmakers on the same day said, “The previous prosecution failed to search and seize Channel A. After claiming that he always gave indulgences to the big press, he said, “Unlike the prosecution, this search and seizure by the police is a very big step. It is a step forward for a fair press.”
