Freedom of the press in South Korea

A group of South Korean journalists aboard the USS George Washington after its arrival in Busan, Republic of Korea

South Korea is considered to have freedom of the press, but it is subject to several pressures. It has improved since South Korea transitioned to democracy in the late 20th century, but declined slightly in the 2010s. Freedom House Freedom of the Press has classified South Korean press as free from 2002 to 2010, and as partly free since 2011.

In the Index of Reporters Without Borders, the government of President Park Geun-hye fell to 70th in 2016, but it rose 20 places in the government of Moon Jae-in. For this reason, Freedom House published the Freedom of the Press Index in Korea for the first time among Asian countries.[1]

  1. ^ "한국, 세계언론지수 43위…미국·일본보다 높아" [Korea ranked 43rd in the World Press Index... higher than the US and Japan.]. Newsis (in Korean). 25 April 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2023.