Facts matter in and out of the Ivory Tower

We don’t want to see repeated mudslinging fights in which the boundary between facts and lies disappear.

Kim Jung-keeThe author is an emeritus professor of journalism and mass communication at Hanyang University. When I was studying abroad, my professor always stressed that I must manage raw data for my paper very carefully. He told students that any data used as basis for papers must be kept in its original form. When we input answers to surveys for a statistical analysis, he said, “You must not trust anyone and you must do it yourself,” stressing that not even lovers or friends should be asked to help. He meant that facts must be respected. He made me realize the toughness of academia but I was able to learn professionalism that I should be faithful to the facts.

I was reminded of the importance of facts after Democratic Party (DP) Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom raised an allegation at a National Assembly hearing on Oct. 24 about a drinking party in Cheongdam-dong, a posh neighborhood in southern Seoul. Kim argued that President Yoon Suk-yeol and Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon had attended the party with some 30 lawyers from Kim & Chang, a powerful law firm, at a lavish bar and sang songs while a cellist was performing. Kim raised the accusation of an inappropriate relationship if lawyers from the largest law firm in the country and the president and the justice minister were hanging out together late at night.

Minister Han flatly denied the allegation, calling it “fake information.” He said he would step down if it proved to be true. Yoon said, “Instigation using low, childish fake news is an attempt to ignore the people. It is a matter of the country’s dignity to even discuss the issue as the president.”

YouTube channel “Citizen Press The Tamsa TV,” which Rep. Kim said he was working with, implied that the allegation is a fact and the issue is a matter of the people’s right to know and press freedom.

The latest report about the allegation is a form of muckraking journalism. Muckraking journalism started with a strong, critical report based on facts. It is different from tabloid journalism, a popular style of largely sensationalist, scandalous journalism. In the 1900s, when the United States was growing fast, muckraking journalism laid bare the ugly, cruel reality of the establishment and capitalism and portrayed in detail the ordinary people’s hardships by highlighting them. To this end, journalists used specific evidence, systemic data, objective and detailed descriptions, narrative and literary methods based on realism and naturalism. They maintained critical perspectives toward real problems.

The tradition of muckraking journalism continued with reports that laid bare the problems of the automotive industry in the 1960s and the poor working conditions of laborers in the 1970s. (See “American Muckraking of Technology since 1900” by Harry H. Stein.) According to Hiley H. Ward’s “Mainstreams of American Media History,” muckraking journalism — different from scandalous reports — focused on the facts of an issue so that facts and fabrications were not confused and an issue was dealt with from a national perspective. The recent problems associated with irresponsible disclosures by social media and money-seeking YouTube channels are tarnishing the tradition of muckraking journalism and they deserve criticism.

After Rep. Kim’s accusation, two Supreme Council members and the chief policymaker of the DP made remarks suggestive of their affirmation of the allegation at a Supreme Council meeting and created a taskforce to investigate the case. But the justice minister defined it as fake news and the president said it was a malicious attack. Now, verifying the facts has become a hot issue and the rival politicians have crossed the Rubicon River.

I hope the taskforce investigates the issue methodically and Rep. Kim and The Tamsa TV to lay bare additional facts, as promised, by more active investigation and cooperation.

Of course, their outcome must include accurate information based on the Five Ws and How, the essence of muckraking journalism. Only then, can it become more than a factional, abstract political debate. We don’t want to see repeated mudslinging fights in which the boundary between facts and lies disappear. An argument not based on facts is a smokescreen meant to deceive the people. Politicians must be held accountable for telling public lies, messing up the world and disturbing the public. Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.