GIA Chief Defends Secrecy Over Press Room Bombshell GNP Chairman Vows to Fight Press Restrictions Treating the Press Like the Enemy War on the Press Will Sour Roh’s Last Days in Office What Really Matters Is the President, by Kang Chun-suk Roh Comes Out Fighting Over Press Room Merger Draconian New Press Rules Spark First Confrontations Why Roh Is Throwing the Book at the Press Uri Suspicious of Motives for Press Room Merger No Progress for the Progressives Int'l Press Club Slams Korea's New Media Rules Media Experts Reject New Press Rules: Poll The Right to Know What He Wants Us to Know Seven More Months, by Kim Dae-joong Ex-Election Commissioners Say Roh Violated Law Gov't Efforts to Limit Media Access Continue Gov’t Ups the Ante in Press Crackdown

Lawyers for Citizens on Tuesday filed a suit with the Constitutional Court on behalf of the daily, four Munhwa reporters and five readers. In the petition, they said the government's decision to merge pressrooms at government agencies is incompatible with a free democracy, the basic principle of the country's Constitution. It “clearly violates media companies' freedom of reporting, reporters' freedom of news coverage, and the people's right to know,” they said.

They say it violates the constitutional principle that limiting people's basic rights must be done by proper legislation, and even then must not violate fundamental rights.

(englishnews@chosun.com )