May 2006
South Korean prosecutors have been investigating the falsified scientific research paper scandal involving Hwang Woo-suk, former professor of Seoul National University, which had shook the nation, since 11 January 2006. Munhwa Broadcasting Company, or MBC, a terrestrial broadcasting television that has an aspect of public broadcaster, started the coverage, ahead of others, of Prof. Hwang and his research team in an investigative news program “PD Su-cheop (Producer’s Notebook)” in the middle of last year to find out the truth.
However, Prof. Hwang was a national hero; people regarded him as Korea’s next Nobel laureate with his “stellar achievements” such as cloning of cows and dogs and human embryonic stem cell research. The program cut deeply into the hero regarding bioethical issues in the process of acquiring egg cells for his research and the alleged fabricated data. Other media including major papers and satellite and cable news channels, Korean public, especially “Netizens,” and politicians both from the ruling and opposition parties responded with fierce attacks against the show, revealing problems within the Korean journalism. This article reviews the background of “Producer’s Notebook” coverage and reporting of the news and various responses to them, focusing on challenges Korean media are facing.