Military Beat

A couple of Korean reporters who used to cover the Pentagon for the Joongang Ilbo seem to have got their panties in a twist over the South Korean Ministry of Defense’s plan to move the press room out of the building. They might want to take a course in persuasive journalism, however, as it starts off talking about the Pentagon system being international evaluated only to suddenly drop that angle, the only sources they quote are actually arguing in favor of the plan, and they sort of finish up without any real conclusion. If I were a J-school professor I would give this piece a C.

In Washington’s Department of Defense building the ‘Pentagon’ the briefing room is on the first floor. Next to that is the press room with facilities for reporters to prepare their articles and send them.

Other than that the Department of Defense offers separate press rooms for major news organizations such as CNN, ABC, and so on. The reporters making their way in and out of the Pentagon roam the halls as they please they can have a conversation with the Department’s workers and soldiers from the joint chiefs of staff. This Pentagon briefing system is hailed as an international public national defense information “Global Standard”.

What does Korea have? Korea’s Ministry of Defense is currently in the middle of pushing a plan to move its press and briefing rooms outside. On the 27th a spokesman from the Ministry explained “We’re examining whether to move the current press room inside the Ministry of Defense to a citizen’s service center building outside the grounds.” The spokesman added “If reporters intend to come into the Ministry of Defense, then they will have to announce their intent before receiving a temporary visitor’s pass. Moving the briefing room out instead of maintaining one in the Ministry of Defense is a principle for the government information agency.”

However, moving the press room outside the Ministry of Defense would in effect make it impossible to gather information. A different spokesman retorted that “Once the press room is moved outside the Ministry of Defense, if a reporter receives a visitor’s pass and enters the Ministry and requests an interview it’s all going to be on the record, and so who is going to meet up with reporters to answer sensitive questions?”

Even now at the Ministry of Defense there are strong limits on the gathering of data. The press and briefing rooms are on the first floor of the new government building but there are strict controls on entering the office and contacting employees. Since regular offices in the Ministry of Defense building are locked with security systems, reporters can’t just use their passes to throw open the doors and walk in. Also, by the regulations only a department chief or those of higher rank are allowed to meet reporters. Moreover, reporters have to call in advance and make an appointment and there must be a third party in the meeting including the director of public relations.

Naturally, active-duty soldiers mindful of promotions and so on avoid contact with the press. This is because they carry their awareness of the danger that they could receive some penalty if they make contact with the press without permission or reveal information disadvantageous to the government.