Minjok Ilbo

The Minjok Ilbo () was a progressive and left-wing nationalist daily newspaper in South Korea, published from 13 February 1961 to 19 May. The publisher was , and the editorial writers were and Yang Ho-min.

Overview

In the 1960 legislative election held following the resignation of Syngman Rhee, progressive forces who founded the suffered a crushing defeat, winning only four seats in the House of Representatives and one seat in the House of Councillors. This allowed the Democratic Party to dominate the National Assembly after the fall of the Liberal Party.

Establishment

Progressive journalists including Cho Yong-su and Yang Ho-min recognized the need for a media outlet to rebuild progressive political parties and expose the flaws of hardline anti-North Korea policies to the public. Securing funds from Mindan through exiled politician , they founded the Minjok Ilbo on 13 February 1961. During preparation, it was initially named Daejung Ilbo ("Mass Daily"), but was officially registered and launched under the name the Minjok Ilbo ("National Daily") as a single-edition broadsheet newspaper consisting of four pages.

On January 29, prior to its launch, Democratic Party lawmaker targeted the paper with red-baiting accusations, claiming that "the newspaper set to launch on 13 February is funded by Chongryon." Consequently, the State Council Secretariat ordered Seoul Shinmun—a state-managed enterprise at the time that printed the paper—to immediately cease printing the Minjok Ilbo, causing the newspaper to suspend publication for three days. The Secretariat maintained that the printing contract was made without prior government approval and that government property management was separate from freedom of the press. In response, the Minjok Ilbo criticized the action as blatant press suppression and announced plans to file a lawsuit for damages and report the incident to the International Press Institute. A spokesperson for the Democratic Party stated that while the government had discretion over state-controlled enterprises, as a public interest institution, it should have given the Minjok Ilbo five days' advance notice. Despite the accusations, the newspaper's editorial stance remained faithfully anti-communist, referring to North Korea as the "North puppet" (Buk-goe) and describing Kim Il Sung as a "puppet of Nikita Khrushchev."

Closure

Following the May 16 coup in 1961, Park Chung-hee seized power under the pretext of "rooting out pro-communist elements." Targeting the Minjok Ilbo, which had criticized hardline anti-North policies and the suppression of workers, the military regime arrested ten key executives, including publisher Cho Yong-su and editorial writer Song Ji-young. On May 19, the regime issued a closure order after the publication of its 92nd issue. On October 31, during the final trial, Cho Yong-su, An Sin-gyu, and Song Ji-young were sentenced to death.

Editorial writer Song Ji-young and auditor An Sin-gyu later had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. However, on 21 December 1961, the day after Park Chung-hee approved the execution order, Cho Yong-su was executed at Seodaemun Prison.

According to Ministry of Public Information data from September 1961, the circulation figures of major newspapers at the time were 233,774 copies for the Dong-A Ilbo, 174,565 for the Hankook Ilbo, 133,368 for the Chosun Ilbo, 80,185 for the Kyunghyang Shinmun, and 40,532 for the Minjok Ilbo. Selling over 40,000 copies solely through newsstand and street sales in its first year reflected the explosive public response the Minjok Ilbo received at the time.

Rehabilitation

Following appeals and petitions from domestic and international organizations, the death sentences of auditor An Sin-gyu and editorial writer Song Ji-young were commuted to life imprisonment, but publisher Cho Yong-su was executed. Known as the "Minjok Ilbo Incident" (민족일보사건), it was the first press freedom trial in South Korean history where journalists received capital punishment or severe sentences. In November 2006, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission rehabilitated the reputation of the Minjok Ilbo and Cho Yong-su. On January 16, 2008, the 22nd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Cho Yong-su during a retrial, overturning his conviction under the Special Law on Punishment of Special Crimes for allegedly sympathizing with North Korea's activities.

See also

• The Hankyoreh, a centre-left Korean nationalist newspaper founded in 1988
• Supreme Council for National Reconstruction

External links

• 민족일보사건 - Open Archive of the Korea Democracy Foundation