The Ministry of Justice said Wednesday that it will ban reporters from the prosecution’s premises if they are found to have reported false stories on an ongoing investigation.

Effective December after a trial run in November, the new regulation also prohibits prosecutors and their aides from speaking with reporters about ongoing investigations. Instead, a designated public relations officer will release press statements upon the media’s request.

The latest announcement on prosecution reforms promised by President Moon Jae-in has drawn strong opposition from reporters on the prosecution beat.

The ministry said the new measure will protect the human rights of the accused and prosecutors. But, reporters question the criteria for a “false story” and the grounds to block their access to ongoing investigations. Reporters criticize the directive as being at odds with the public’s right to know and with press freedom.

Legal and media experts agree. “On a case concerning government officials, for instance, reporters should be able to report on it from angles of their choice. If not, are we to jot down whatever prosecutors tell us?” said Cha Jina, a professor of constitutional law at Korea University.

“This is a violation of the freedom of the press, and more, the public’s right to know.”

Kim Seong-cheol, a professor of media and communications at Korea University, said, “Prosecutors talk about protecting the rights of the accused. But if the accused are public figures, the public’s right to know sometimes comes first.” 

Under the new rules, prosecutors are not allowed to reveal the allegations faced by the accused. The Justice Ministry said prosecutors and reporters could discuss what constitutes as a false story, and perhaps come up with standards to distinguish false stories from “correct” ones.

It added that managing prosecutors at each prosecutors’ office will make the decision whether to ban reporters from the premises if they file false reports on investigations.

But reporters remain skeptical, as prosecutors could arbitrarily categorize a reporter’s story as false and use that to block access to high-profile cases.

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)