As the concealment of Kim Sun-il’s video by AP becomes a hot potato with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, an AP reporter in Seoul takes video footage of the Islamic mosque in Itaewon. AP, Foreign Ministry Clash over Report AP Report Suggests Foreign Ministry Informed of Kidnapping in Early June Foreign Ministry Launches Internal Probe on Videotape Controversy

The AP spokesperson Jack Stokes said, “We know the Korean Foreign Ministry official who received the phone call, but we cannot reveal the name,” and the agency is reluctant to get involved in the matter that may concern public confidence in the country and is passing over the “truth game” to the Foreign Ministry.

Now suspicions of “how deep” the reporter at the AP Seoul bureau inquired about Kim’s kidnapping is brought forward -- whether AP is showing a passive response about the matter in order to avoid the fact from being revealed that the AP reporter inquired with the Foreign Ministry "insincerely."

One foreign news reporter supposed that, “Without seeing the video tape that was acquired by the AP Baghdad bureau, the reporter at the Seoul bureau might have just inquired with the Foreign Ministry about the kidnapping of a Korean ‘who is said to be Kim Sun-il’ for form's sake.” In other words, there might have been a difference in interest between the AP Baghdad bureau, where they had the tape, and the Seoul bureau that did not see the tape, and this “difference” might have been reflected in communication procedures between the Seoul bureau and the Foreign Ministry.

Regarding the reason that the AP did not comment on the existence of the tape while inquiring with the Foreign Ministry, AP explained the reporter did so in his efforts to independently confirm the kidnapping.” AP added that the tape did not have evidence that Kim was detained against his will and there were no explanations as to why the tape was delivered to AP. However, the explanations are less than satisfactory since the inquiry with the Foreign Ministry started from the “obscurity” of the tape and since there were no further explanations given by AP on its “efforts to independently confirm the kidnapping.”

Correspondents and scholars studying journalism indicate that AP should have informed the Foreign Ministry about Kim’s “uncertain” situation that was recorded on the tape, ahead of desires to independently confirm the story, in cases like Kim's where a life is being threatened. Professor Lee Jae-jin from Hanyang University said, “It is a moral and ethical matter that the AP did not inform the Foreign Ministry about the existence of the tape.”

The reasons why AP kept silent for three days after the kidnapping was revealed by Al-jazeera on Monday are also suspicious. AP revealed the tape on Wednesday, a day after Kim was killed.

Professor Lee Chang-hyun from Kookmin University said, “It was made clear by Al-jazeera that the tape acquired by AP showed Kim as a hostage. Since kidnapping is directly connected with life in Iraq, there can be moral criticism on the part of AP that they should have revealed the tape even though it was belated”

AP may have dealt with the tape is an easygoing manner with the tape relying on the judgment of the reporter that “the kidnapping was not confirmed.” A foreign correspondent siad of this that, “AP might have felt ‘anguish’ over not reporting the tape in the first place, and after internal considerations, they might have decided to reveal the tape behind time considering the news value of the tape they acquired.”

(Lee Chul-min, chulmin@chosun.com )