Incident
South Korea's martial-law government purges journalists who resisted press controls
Under General Chun Doo-hwan's martial-law government, South Korean authorities ordered newsrooms in 1980 to purge journalists who had resisted press controls or joined a May sit-in strike for press freedom, and closed 172 periodicals, dismissing roughly 2,000 journalists in total.123
What happened
General Chun Doo-hwan's martial-law government, which had seized effective control of South Korea after President Park Chung-hee's October 1979 assassination and a May 1980 military response to pro-democracy protests centered in Kwangju, ordered South Korean news organizations in the summer of 1980 to purge journalists who had resisted press controls or sought press freedom. Newsrooms were told to dismiss staff by August 10, 1980, including those who had taken part in a sit-in strike from May 19 to 28 demanding freedom of the press, with the government's ruling committee drawing up purge lists where newsrooms' own dismissals fell short of the military's standards. The Culture and Information Ministry also ordered the closure of 172 periodicals. An association formed by the dismissed journalists later counted about 2,000 people who lost their careers in the press during the purge, some of whom were also sent to reeducation camps.123
What reason was given
Stated justificationThe government said nothing was more important than maintaining national security against North Korea and preserving domestic order and peace, the standard it used to justify purging journalists who had sought press freedom.2
What changed for reporting
An association of the journalists dismissed in the purge later counted about 2,000 who could no longer work in the South Korean press, while 172 periodicals were closed by government order.3
Timeline
1980
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Chun Doo-hwan | enforced | General and de facto head of South Korea's martial-law government |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| Hankook Ilbo | outlet | affected |
Sources
- S. Korea Orders Purge of Dissident Journalists archived copy
- [Reporter's Notebook] Press freedoms taken for granted
Claims and evidence
Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.
- The government ordered all South Korean newsmen and broadcasters who had resisted censorship or sought freedom of the press to be purged from their jobs by August 10, 1980.
ordered all South Korean newsmen and broadcasters who have resisted censorship or sought freedom of the press to be purged from their jobs by Aug. 10
S. Korea Orders Purge of Dissident Journalists archived copy, The Washington Post, 1980-07-31.Claim 189, checked 2026-09-22. - The government said nothing was more important than maintaining national security against North Korea and preserving domestic order and peace.
nothing is more important than the Maintenance of national security against North Korea and the preservation of (domestic) order and peace
S. Korea Orders Purge of Dissident Journalists archived copy, The Washington Post, 1980-07-31.Claim 190, checked 2026-09-22. - An association of the journalists dismissed in the 1980s purge later counted about 2,000 people who could no longer pursue careers in the South Korean press.
An association of the dismissed journalists in the 1980s counted the number of journalists who could no longer pursue their careers at 2,000.
[Reporter's Notebook] Press freedoms taken for granted, The Korea Herald, 2024-12-13.Claim 191, checked 2026-09-22.