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IPI Watch List: South Korea

IPI Watch List Report

South Korea was placed on the list on 6 September 2001 after the IPI Board unanimously gave its consent. The decision was announced in South Korea during a mission to the country and later reaffirmed at a board meeting on 20 October 2001, 10 May 2002 and 23 November 2002.

In a press release released after the 13 September 2003 Board meeting, IPI said, "The government of South Korea [is] engaged in a war of words with the independent media which is encouraging other elements in society to assail the media."

On 15 May 2004, the board voted unanimously to remove the country from the IPI Watch List. In a statement from the board announcing the decision, IPI called on President Roh "to undertake every effort to uphold the principles of press freedom as one of the fundamental rights of democracy and to reject any attempts to infringe this freedom."