SNS, cable channels galvanized along partisan lines



By Lee Tae-hoon

The Dec. 19 presidential election is looming as a generational clash pitting young, liberal voters against old, conservatives.

This is made clearer as there appear to be little differences in terms of policy between Park Geun-hye of the ruling conservative Saenuri Party and Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP).

Since the third television debate Sunday night, it is not an unusual sight for office workers to argue over ideological sentiments held by different generations of voters. Older people tend to be more supportive of Park, while younger members of the electorate are opting to back Moon.

Park is the daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee, an ironfisted ruler who is said to have laid the foundations for the nation's economic miracle, while Moon was a protege of the late liberal head of state, Roh Moo-hyun.

The ideological divide between generations is evident in the contrast between social networking services (SNS), the venue of liberals, and new TV channels, owned by conservative vernacular newspapers.

"I turned the TV off as I could not stand watching panelists of cable channels, such as JTBC, TV Chosun and Channel A, give extremely biased, and seemingly politically motivated opinions," said Lee Eun-joo, a 29-year-old voter in Seoul. "I heaved a sigh of relief after reading comments made by netizens on SNS."

She noted that it was frustrating to see how nearly all of the new cable channels run by conservative newspapers "giving up providing a balanced view and currying favor with Park, who they believe will act for them."

Many netizens shared a similar view with some even saying a "handful of educated people with vested interests" are brainwashing the general public with their "groundless views."

"It is absurd to hear political experts insisting that Park won in the TV debate," a netizen with the screen name Yong said in a twitter message.

"They are nothing more than swindlers and cable channels are a breeding ground for con artists."

Jeon Gyu-chan, professor at Korea National University of Arts and head of the People's Coalition for Media Reform, noted that conservative cable channels, known as "jongpyeon," are waging a proxy war against SNS over the Dec. 19 presidential vote.

"SNS, where diverse opinions of voters are expressed and exchanged, are engaged in a battle with jongpyeon, which have the power to consolidate conservative support," he said.

Jeon said the views expressed on SNS and conservative channels on the two major presidential bidders are poles apart as the new and traditional media have different target audiences and ideological stances.

"SNS, which are more frequently used by younger people, have a strong tendency to carry opinions favoring Moon, whereas cable channels, whose existence depends largely on corporate sponsors and conservative supporters, are naturally supportive of Park," Jeon said.

Shin Yul, professor at Myongji University and host of a political debate show on TV Chosun, argued that cable channels are striving to provide fair coverage, but are limited in doing so due to liberal figures' boycott of conservative channels.

"Cable channels are not fools to upset the public by intentionally refusing to have guest panelists with progressive views," he said.

He said the difficulties in having a balanced number of liberal and conservative panelists often lead to dominance by conservative voices on cable channels.

He also claimed that cable channels are often falsely criticized for unfair coverage especially when experts' views are different from those of the general public.

Observers say the survival of conservative cable channels created by the country's major newspapers will largely depend on who becomes president as liberals, who were opposed to the creation of new channels, will likely take away "privileges" they have upon taking power.

Kim added that it is hard to predict whether SNS or "politicized" cable channels will have a stronger influence over the upcoming election as both have positioned as strong campaign tools for each camp.

"Major TV networks have turned into an incompetent, insignificant outlet due to excessive emphasis on impartiality, whereas cable channels have become a mouth piece for conservative politicians," he said.