By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
The Korean Association of Newspapers issued a statement Friday protesting the government's plan to close most of its pressrooms. The association urged the government to cancel the plan immediately.
It said the government is trying to oppress the press by forcibly implementing what it calls its ``advanced press support system'' despite strong opposition from the media, politicians and civic groups.
The associated categorized the plan a form of oppression which didn't exist even under the authoritarian regimes of former presidents Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan.
It said, ``We feel anger at the move by the current government, which claims to be the participatory government.''
According to the statement: `` The government is to close the pressrooms and let the Government Information Agency issue press cards to journalists, which would prevent reporters' face-to-face meeting with public servants and block their coverage. The move is seen as the government's effort to distance the press.''
``Moreover, journalists have to stay in their newsbeat, covering important issues day and night such as the second inter-Korean summit on Oct. 2-4 and the Korean hostages held by the Taliban in Afghanistan. If the government forcibly implements its plan at this moment while reporters work on these sensitive issues, it will face severe opposition from the people,'' it added.
It noted that the public has the right to clearly know the whole process of how a government policy is formulated.
The association urged the government to stop its plan to deprive the people of their right to know and to hold government officials who made the anachronistic and undemocratic measures accountable.