단상斷想

- Criticism of Democracy Destruction Without Guilt

The far-right phenomenon in the South Korean conservative press is emerging as a serious social problem that goes beyond simple ideological bias and shakes the foundations of democracy. The division of the conservative press revealed by the Yoon Suk-yeol insurrection raises fundamental questions about the essential role of the press. In particular, the behavior of far-right media outlets such as Maeil Shinmun and Asia Today shows that the media has abandoned its inherent duty to monitor power and has been reduced to a propaganda tool for certain political forces.

The pro-insurrection tone shown by Maeil Shinmun and Asia Today is in itself a direct challenge to democracy. Asia Today's unusual tone, including editorials opposing impeachment after the president's state of emergency, suggests that this far-right leaning is being criticized even within the organization, according to testimonies from internal members. More serious is the systematic fostering of distrust in the judiciary by even disobeying the Constitutional Court's impeachment decision. Asia Today's extreme expressions, such as "Constitutional Court justices who betrayed the Republic of Korea, the Constitution, and the people will be judged by history," or Maeil Shinmun's claim that "the Constitutional Court has been reduced to a supporting actor for parliamentary dictatorship," are dangerous ideas that directly deny the basic principles of democracy, such as the separation of powers.

It is an extremely dangerous act for these media outlets to actively spread election fraud conspiracy theories, as it fosters distrust in the democratic election system itself. Editorials such as the Maeil Shinmun's "If the Constitutional Court does not verify election fraud, it should drop the impeachment trial of Yoon" or Asia Today's "We cannot trust the National Election Commission without verification of the election system" cause people to doubt the fairness of the election without any basis. This is essentially the same behavior as Donald Trump in the United States refusing to acknowledge the results of the 2020 presidential election and plunging democracy into crisis.

Interestingly, while avoiding direct advocacy of insurrection, the Chosun Ilbo employed a subtle tactic of "strategic ambiguity." While criticizing the declaration of martial law itself, it simultaneously chose a water-muddying tone, continuously criticizing the judiciary, investigative agencies, and the Democratic Party. The 63 related editorials are overwhelmingly more than the 9 of the JoongAng Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo, which seems to be a deliberate strategy, not a coincidence. This approach appears balanced on the surface, but in reality, it dilutes the essence of the insurrection and obscures accountability.

Amidst criticisms that the Maeil Shinmun's tone is aimed at protecting President Yoon, editorials from these far-right media outlets are being actively introduced and spread by far-right YouTubers. The phenomenon of YouTubers with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, such as Kwon Soon-hwal TV and Seong Chang-kyung TV, citing these media editorials and appealing for a "boycott of the Chosun, JoongAng, and Dong-A Ilbo" demonstrates the fragmentation of the existing conservative media ecosystem. However, a closer look at the motivations behind these far-right YouTubers' actions reveals that the pursuit of economic gain is at the heart of the matter, rather than ideological conviction. On the YouTube platform, far-right content receives high loyalty and active support from viewers of that persuasion. The more extreme and provocative the content, the higher the number of views, which directly translates into increased advertising revenue and donations. The reason channels like Kwon Soon-hwal TV and Seong Chang-kyung TV actively introduce the far-right editorials of Maeil Shinmun and Asia Today is that this content stimulates viewers' anger and excitement, bringing in more economic revenue.

They are commercializing blind support for former President Yoon Seok-yeol as content, fueling viewers' political biases to generate revenue. Ultimately, far-right ideology is just a 'business model' for them, and side effects such as the destruction of democracy or social division are treated as secondary issues in the face of personal profit-seeking. The defection of 15,000-20,000 paid readers of the Chosun Ilbo is a concrete result of this differentiation. The far-right wing praises the Maeil Shinmun and Asia Today as 'real right-wing media' and rejects existing conservative media. This suggests that even within the conservative media, far-right leaning is recognized as a survival strategy for securing readership. A vicious cycle has formed in which both the media and YouTubers are engaged in a far-right competition for economic survival.

Even more noteworthy is the fact that members within these media companies are openly resisting this shift to the far right. Reports that the Maeil Shinmun branch of the Korea Journalists Association posted a statement in front of the Maeil Shinmun editorial office titled 'Conservative media company where democracy has disappeared, biased Maeil Shinmun that has abandoned reader trust' show a deep conflict between professional ethics as a journalist and the direction of the organization. Within Asia Today, reporters are also expressing concerns, saying, 'The biased tone is hindering coverage,' and the fact that Maeil Shinmun members criticized the far-right tone in the committee and even issued statements by class when it was not improved demonstrates how serious the far-right shift in these media companies has become.

The most serious problem with these far-right media outlets is that they have no guilt about the destructive impact their actions have on democracy. They defend an unprecedented situation in constitutional history, namely insurrection, disobey legitimate rulings of the judiciary, and spread unfounded conspiracy theories, while packaging this as "protecting conservative values." The media is a core institution of democracy that monitors power and satisfies the public's right to know. However, these far-right media outlets, far from monitoring power, defend illegal exercises of power, and far from enlightening the public, aggravate confusion with false information. This is a betrayal that denies the very reason for the existence of the media.

As experts point out, 'far-right claims should be removed from the market'. However, the reality is that far-right content is operating in a structure that is more economically profitable. As far-right YouTubers prove, the more provocative and biased the content, the more views and sponsorships it receives from enthusiastic supporters. This means that healthy market logic is not working. Freedom of the press is not unlimited freedom, and journalistic acts aimed at destroying democracy are not worthy of protection. Just as Germany legally prohibits Nazi-praising media, and election result-denying media in the United States are facing huge damages, journalistic acts that destroy democracy should be subject to appropriate social sanctions. In particular, those who intentionally spread false information and incite social division for economic gain should be held even more accountable.

The far-right turn of the Korean conservative press is a warning sign for the entire Korean democracy, beyond the problems of individual media companies. Their behavior of advocating for insurrection, distrusting the judiciary, and spreading conspiracy theories is no different from the government-supporting media of the authoritarian era. What is even more serious is that this far-right turn is combined with the pursuit of economic interests, making it more systematic and continuous. The 'economics of anger' formed by far-right media and YouTubers has created a vicious cycle of fueling social conflict to generate profits. Since they gain more economic benefits by stimulating the anger and anxiety of viewers and readers, they are more motivated to incite conflict and spread false information than to pursue social integration or truth. Democracy is not maintained automatically. When the press volunteers to act as a mouthpiece for forces that destroy democracy and promotes social division for personal gain, citizens must become more aware and actively work to build a healthy media ecosystem. Along with cultivating media literacy that is not deceived by the false propaganda of the far-right media, continuous criticism and checks on their anti-democratic behavior are urgently needed.

In particular, a multifaceted response is needed for far-right content producers who are motivated by economic incentives, including advertiser pressure, platform policy improvements, and legal sanctions. Only by blocking their revenue structure can we prevent the spread of false information and hateful content. Freedom of the press is freedom for democracy, not freedom to destroy democracy. If far-right media outlets represented by Maeil Shinmun and Asia Today, and far-right YouTubers who have formed a symbiotic relationship with them, do not admit their mistakes and return to their original roles as soon as possible, Korean society will define them as enemies of democracy and deal with them decisively.