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A majority of Koreans oppose the government¡¯s new press controls, including the merger of newsrooms at government agencies into a handful of briefing rooms and other measures limiting media access to government officials. In a phone survey conducted by Gallup Korea at the request of the Chosun Ilbo, 70 percent of respondents said the controls are bad because they infringe on people¡¯s right to know and limit media activities. The number of opponents was three times higher than that of supporters, who said the measures would improve reporting practices and provide quality information on government policies.
In the same survey, the approval ratings of Grand National Party presidential nominee Lee Myung-bak soared to 60.7 percent, much higher than before he was nominated. Former Gyoneggi Province Governor Sohn Hak-kyu rated 7.2 percent, followed by former ruling Uri Party chairman Chung Dong-young with 3.2 percent and lawmaker Chough Soon-hyung with 1.6 percent.
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A new centralized briefing room on the first floor of the Foreign Ministry building constructed as part of the government's new press room policy remains empty in the middle of the conflict between the government and the press. The government has requested the old briefing room be emptied out by Aug. 26. /Newsis
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The poll also again questioned respondents to another Gallup survey on Aug. 12, before the GNP primary, to track any shift in supporters of former GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye after she lost the presidential nomination. The survey found that 55.6 percent of Park supporters switched to Lee after he won the candidacy. The survey questioned by phone 833 people over 19, amounting to 82 percent of 1,014 respondents polled in the Aug. 12 survey. The confidence level was 95 percent with a margin of error of 3.4 percent.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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