After President Kim Dae-jung mentioned the need for media reform in his State of the Nation Address on January 11, the National Tax Service launched an unprecedented large-scale tax investigation into 23 media companies, with over 1,000 auditors assigned to the case for 132 days. The media companies were charged with a total of W505.6 billion in tax evasion on June 20, followed by the arrest of critical media owners and major shareholders, including those of the Chosun Ilbo and Donga Ilbo, charged with tax evasion on August 18. The government's media policy raised criticism domestically and internationally, as the purpose of the tax probe lay not in media reform, but rather in suppressing critical media.