The Korea Press Consumerism Organization

The Korea Press Consumerism Organization (KPCO) is a South Korean civil-society group focused on press-consumer activism, media monitoring, and campaigns concerning the fairness and social responsibility of news organizations. It was established by Korean citizens in 2008, during intense public controversy over the resumption of United States beef imports and the way major newspapers covered the associated candlelight demonstrations. The organization developed out of an online consumer movement directed at Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and Dong-A Ilbo, commonly grouped in South Korean public discourse as “Cho-Joong-Dong.” Participants accused the three newspapers of supporting the Lee Myung-bak administration’s beef-import policy while portraying peaceful demonstrations in strongly negative terms. The initial campaign encouraged readers to reconsider their relationship with the newspapers and circulated information about companies advertising in them. On 30 August 2008, the movement was formalized as the Korea Press Consumerism Organization, with a broader objective than the original boycott: promoting a healthier and fairer media culture and defending the rights of people who consume news. KPCO’s principal method has been online collective action. Members shared lists of advertisers in the targeted newspapers and contacted companies to ask them to withdraw or reconsider their advertising. The group presented this activity as a consumer boycott intended to communicate dissatisfaction with media practices. Supporters viewed the campaign as an exercise of civic choice and a way for readers to exert influence in a media market dominated by powerful newspapers. Critics argued that the campaign improperly targeted advertisers rather than the newspapers themselves and that coordinated pressure, including large numbers of telephone calls, could interfere with businesses’ operations. The boycott became the subject of criminal litigation. Twenty-four members were prosecuted in connection with the campaign and were found guilty at first instance on 19 February 2009, receiving suspended prison sentences or fines. The case generated a wider debate about the boundary between lawful consumer organizing and unlawful interference with business. One line of criticism, associated in the reference material with law professor Park Kyung-shin, argued that readers should be able to organize a boycott, publish advertiser information, and make recommendations so long as advertisers remained free to make their own decisions. This view questioned whether the defendants could properly be held responsible for allegedly abusive or threatening conduct by unspecified callers. Other commentators regarded the conviction as a predictable application of business-interference principles and maintained that a boycott should have been directed at the newspapers rather than their advertisers. The organization has also intervened in other media-accountability controversies. Reference material describes a KPCO news conference concerning allegations that coverage of actress Jang Ja-yeon’s case was being reduced or suppressed. The group called on Chosun Ilbo to report the matter accurately and according to the facts; Chosun Ilbo subsequently filed a libel complaint against a KPCO leader. The available material does not establish the later legal outcome or provide a complete account of the organization’s current activities. KPCO is therefore best understood not as a conventional commercial brand but as an issue-oriented Korean media NGO. Its public identity rests on monitoring allegedly biased or distorted reporting, mobilizing news consumers, and using public campaigns to pressure media companies and advertisers. Because the supplied sources provide limited information about its internal structure, leadership, funding, membership, and present-day operations, its current status and organizational scale remain uncertain.

KPCO emerged from South Korea’s 2008 dispute over the resumption of United States beef imports. In April of that year, an agreement was reached to recommence imports, prompting concern among sections of the public about mad-cow-disease risks and possible harm to Korean farmers. Candlelight demonstrations followed. The major newspapers Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and Dong-A Ilbo were criticized by activists who believed they supported the administration’s policy and described the demonstrations in a hostile or distorted manner. An online boycott developed at the Daum internet portal. Participants circulated criticism of the three newspapers and sought to pressure them through consumer action. The campaign later expanded to companies advertising in those publications. Members shared advertiser information and contacted companies, asking them to stop placing advertisements. On 30 August 2008, the campaign was organized as the Korea Press Consumerism Organization, intended to provide a more systematic structure and to broaden the movement beyond the immediate boycott. The campaign’s organizers described their purpose as defending press consumers’ rights and encouraging a healthier media environment. Their stated vision was a practical press-consumer movement capable of identifying biased or distorted reporting and contributing to journalism that was fair, objective, and productive. The action also reflected a broader argument that newspaper readers should be able to respond collectively to media policies through their purchasing, viewing, and advertising-related choices. The boycott produced a legal confrontation. The reference material attributes a significant reduction in advertising to the campaign, while also noting that the most active period coincided with the economic downturn in the second half of 2008, making the precise effect of the boycott difficult to isolate. The three newspapers sued organizers for interference with business. Twenty-four KPCO members were convicted at first instance on 19 February 2009 and received penalties ranging from suspended prison terms of up to ten months to fines. KPCO rejected the result and said it would appeal. The trial raised questions about whether an organized boycott, advertiser lists, and requests for telephone contact constituted protected consumer expression or an impermissible form of pressure. A critical legal interpretation held that readers could organize against media outlets and could inform advertisers, provided advertisers remained able to decide freely. It objected to treating the defendants as responsible for all allegedly improper calls or messages made by unknown participants and questioned whether Internet advocacy could be classified as a joint offense when the organizers had not directly committed the alleged conduct. The opposing view held that the campaign should have targeted the newspapers directly and that coordinated pressure on advertisers could unlawfully disrupt business operations. KPCO later addressed another media controversy involving the case of actress Jang Ja-yeon. It reportedly accused media organizations of reducing coverage and urged Chosun Ilbo to report the matter accurately. Chosun Ilbo then brought a libel complaint against a KPCO leader. The available reference does not specify the date or final disposition of that complaint. Information about KPCO’s later leadership, membership, finances, institutional structure, and present operations is also not provided.

• 2009

  First-instance convictions in boycott case

  [1]The Korea Press Consumerism Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  Twenty-four members are convicted in connection with the advertiser-boycott campaign, prompting debate over consumer activism, online speech, and interference with business.

• 2008

  United States beef-import controversy intensifies

  [1]The Korea Press Consumerism Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  Public concern over the resumption of United States beef imports leads to candlelight demonstrations and heightened criticism of major newspapers’ coverage.

• 2008

  Online boycott movement develops

  [1]The Korea Press Consumerism Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  Citizens begin an online boycott focused on Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and Dong-A Ilbo, later extending pressure to their advertisers.

• 2008

  KPCO formally established

  [1]The Korea Press Consumerism Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  The Korea Press Consumerism Organization is established on 30 August as a structured NGO devoted to press-consumer activism and media accountability.

A civic media-watch and press-consumer organization advocating fairer journalism through monitoring, public criticism, and collective consumer action.

Product categories. Media monitoring and criticism · Online press-consumer campaigns · Consumer boycott coordination · Public statements and news conferences concerning media accountability

• 2008Cho-Joong-Dong advertiser boycott

  South Korea

  KPCO members and supporters circulated information about companies advertising in Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and Dong-A Ilbo and contacted those companies to request that they withdraw or reconsider their advertising.

  Outcome. The campaign became the organization’s defining activity, was associated in the reference material with reduced advertising, and led to criminal litigation against organizers.

  Source
• Jang Ja-yeon media-coverage advocacy

  South Korea

  KPCO held a news conference alleging insufficient or reduced reporting on the Jang Ja-yeon case and urged Chosun Ilbo to cover the matter factually.

  Outcome. Chosun Ilbo reportedly filed a libel complaint against a KPCO leader; the final outcome is not specified in the supplied material.

  Source

• 2008

  Expand from newspaper boycott to organized press-consumer movementStrategy

  Background

  The initial online protest over coverage of the beef-import controversy had grown beyond an informal boycott of three newspapers.

  Action taken

  KPCO was formally established on 30 August 2008 to pursue broader media monitoring, consumer advocacy, and collective action.

  Aftermath

  The organization gained a formal identity but soon became involved in litigation over its advertiser-boycott methods.

  Source

• 2008

  Use advertiser pressure as a boycott mechanismStrategy

  Background

  Activists believed that criticism directed only at newspapers would have limited effect and that advertisers could influence media behavior.

  Action taken

  Members published or shared advertiser information online and asked companies to stop advertising in the targeted newspapers.

  Aftermath

  The tactic generated claims of substantial advertising decline, criticism that the campaign interfered with business, and prosecution of 24 members.

  Source

• 2009

  Twenty-four KPCO members convicted in first-instance boycott case[1]The Korea Press Consumerism Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  Lawsuit · Other

  A first-instance court found 24 members guilty in connection with the advertiser-boycott campaign, imposing suspended prison sentences or fines. The case became a major dispute over the legality of coordinated online consumer pressure.

• 2008

  Korea Press Consumerism Organization established[1]The Korea Press Consumerism Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The organization was formally created on 30 August 2008 after an online boycott movement expanded into a structured media-consumer NGO.

• KPCO challenges coverage of the Jang Ja-yeon case[1]The Korea Press Consumerism Organizationen.wikipedia.org

  Lawsuit · Other

  KPCO held a news conference alleging that media coverage of the Jang Ja-yeon matter was being reduced and called on Chosun Ilbo to report the issue according to the facts. Chosun Ilbo reportedly filed a libel complaint against a KPCO leader.

1. 1The Korea Press Consumerism Organizationen.wikipedia.org