Samsung Accused of Pressuring Publication to Retract Story of an Anti-Samsung Film

Big bad corporation strikes again.

Park Jung-kyu, the president of the South Korean publication NewDaily Biz, has allegedly told editors to take down an article published earlier this month due to pressure from the Korean corporate giant, Samsung. The article talks about a controversial film made to expose the dark side of a company that holds major influence in South Korea. In an effort to regain Samsung's good graces, Park retracted the article and claims that Samsung had no influence on his decision. Journalism for the win

The film, Another Promise, is based on the real life story of Hwang Yu-mi, a Samsung plant worker who, after four years of being exposed to hazardous chemicals, got severely ill and died at age 23.

The controversy behind pulling the article rose once texts that were sent between President Park and a Samsung executive were accidentally sent to and published by a fellow South Korean publication, Pressian.

In the texts between Park and Samsung, Park explains that the pressures of recently becoming president of NewDaily Biz has affected his judgement and has taken a toll on his work.

Park made an official statement to the press to stop all the rumors of Samsung influence.

"To fix the trust issue between Samsung Group and NewDaily, I plan to do my best," Park explained. "I spoke with Park Jong-moon, who told me that Samsung was upset about the Another Promise article we published last month. After looking into the details, I have directly ordered to take the post down. The columnist didn’t have any ill intent, and the senior managers didn’t notice it at all."

The plot of the film surrounds the journey of Yu-mi’s father, Hwang Sang-ki, who mourns the death of his daughter and learns about other employees suffering from similar deadly illnesses. He is convinced that the major corporation his daughter worked for is to blame for these deaths. Yu-mi and Sang-ki’s names in the film are changed to Yoon-mi and Sang-gu and the corporation based off of Samsung is renamed Jinsung.

"All of the actors and actress starred in the film for free," according to the Korean Herald. “'Another Promise' is the first film in Korean cinematic history to have been both invested and produced solely by private donations and crowdfunding."

The pivotal film represents a huge step for South Koreans who are taking a stand against corporate corruption. Those who could not contribute to the film's creation financially have also donated food, snacks and kimchi. What started as one father's mission to make a change has ignited a fire in the nation of South Korea—one which Samsung hopes to extinguish soon. 

[via The Verge]

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