In the World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), South Korea ranked 47th, down four notches from last year. North Korea and China stayed at the bottom of the list side by side.
The RSF, headquartered in Paris, France, released the ‘World Press Freedom Index 2023’ report containing these contents on the 3rd (local time) on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.
RSF evaluated the media environment in 180 countries around the world and classified it as ‘good’ (8 countries), ‘good’ (44), ‘problematic’ (55), ‘bad’ (42) and ‘very serious’ (31).
Among them, Korea’s degree of freedom of speech was evaluated as good along with the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
RSF evaluated Korea as “a liberal democratic country that respects freedom of speech and pluralism,” saying “it has a rich media landscape with more than 400 broadcasting companies and more than 600 daily newspapers.”
However, he pointed out that “tradition and corporate interests often prevent journalists from fulfilling their role as watchdogs.”
In particular, it pointed out that “defamation can be sentenced to 7 years in prison” according to the timely fact, and “makes the media report while omitting important details such as the names of individuals and companies.” He also said, “The revenues of news organizations are heavily dependent on outside advertising, which can influence their editorial direction.”
On the other hand, North Korea ranked 180th, the lowest among the countries surveyed, just like last year. RSF described North Korea as “the most authoritarian regime in the world” and “tightly controls information and bans independent journalism.”
“The government’s official spokesperson, Chosun Central News Agency, is the only news source permitted by North Korea,” he said.
China, which ranked 175th last year, fell four places to 179th. Vietnam ranked 178th.
On the other hand, Norway has held the top spot for seven years in a row. Ireland moved up four spots to second place. Third place was Denmark. The United States ranked 45th and Japan ranked 68th.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.