Plagiarism in Korea

A one time editorial staff newspaper man writes in the Catholic Times Weekly about  plagiarism within Korea. He mentions how two TV channels in South Korea broadcast the same news on the same day. They reported that North Korea requested 10,000 dollars from each reporter that came to cover the destruction of the planned demolition of the Punggye-ri nuclear facility. 
 
The destruction of the Punggye-ri facility was a symbolic event given by North Korea on the road to the denuclearization negotiations, and received international attention. As a result, viewers  exposed to the broadcasts responded: "North Korea is obsessed with money even in the face of a serious international situation." Often  opinions pass as  information that confirms the  existing preconceptions of those reporting.

However, as a result of an investigation by the Korean Communications Standards Commission, it was revealed these broadcasts were made without the necessary confirming coverage. The reports were copied from another media report without giving the sources, a typical case of plagiarism.

In the end, one news media took information from another news media without giving the source of the news,  contrary to a  basic principle of journalism and  failed to confirm the source, which  adversely affected the news and made for a big press mistake, Plagiarism is an act of stealing "intellectual property".

Article 8 of the Guidelines for the Practice of Newspaper Ethics stipulates: 'Media and journalists should not plagiarize contents of newspapers, communications, magazines and other periodicals, copyrighted publications, photographs, pictures, music and other audiovisuals.' But in reality, plagiarism in the media is serious—and routine.

Of course, it is not just the media. We are accustomed to the plagiarism in society, such as academia and the cultural community, where the copying of the works of others is familiar. Lying has become necessary to find a place in high society, go to the right schools and stay out of the military—often said sarcastically.

Plagiarism is considered a very serious crime in developed countries. If the plagiarism is confirmed, the punishment for it will be enormous and the persons will be socially ostracized. So, some years ago when the problem of plagiarism of the members of the National Assembly was raised in Korea, an overseas press responded: "Korea is a plagiarism paradise".

Plagiarism of the media usually is to cite all or some of the content of another media, but not to specify the source. Instead, it treats them as ambiguous sources such as "according to one media" or "according to one claim," or passive terminating endings such as 'known' or 'reported by the media'.

All media such as broadcasting, internet, portals as well as newspapers have related ethics regulations and autonomous investigative mechanisms, and are subject to after the fact penalties for plagiarism. However, self-review rules and organizations are always overflowing with plagiarism cases due to weak mandatory penalties. The media harmed may appeal to the media arbitration committee or the court in violation of copyright law but this method is not easy.

In the traditional media such as newspapers and broadcasts, as well as in the large and small internet media the copying without giving the sources is commonplace. If you look at the plagiarism situation, you can't say that Korea is a civilized country.