At a conference with cabinet members, vice ministers and Cheong Wa Dae staff, Roh said that while the citizens should be left to read and watch their choice of media, an environment for fair competition needed to be established first. He added that newspapers should be evaluated based on the quality of their articles, not anything else, and that he would have the Fair Trade Commission inspect the newspaper market.

"The government can and must confront the media," said President Roh, who said the government should be able to file for civil action against unfair, biased reports. He also suggested that an agency and a budget be created for the government to better deal with the press.

President Roh added that he had thought the government could wait for civic groups to push for reform and media groups to reform themselves through changes in personnel editorial systems, and that the National Assembly could handle the issue.

As for the scandal of Yang Gil-seung, Roh's personal secretary who was treated to free entertainment by local businessmen in Cheongju, Roh said that he did not accept Yang's resignation because he did not want to succumb to media pressure. Observers said, though, that the media will further attack Cheong Wa Dae if he didn't accept it.

On President Roh's harsh criticism on the press, Grand National Party chairman of policy coordination Lee Kang-too accused Roh of projecting the government's failures on the media. Lee said Roh's ideas are grounded in delusions of persecution, and that Roh falsely believes that he has been harassed by the media.

The opposition spokesman Park Jin said in a daily briefing that while President Roh appears to have declared a war against the media, he should be focusing more on owning up to his own mistakes and improving his performance, considering that his approval ratings have fallen to the 20 percent level only five months since his inauguration. (Kim Chang-kyun, ck-kim@chosun.com )