''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ), also known as ''The Chosun Daily,'' is a Korean-language

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large newspaper circulation, circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and i ...

for South Korea and among the oldest active newspapers in the country. With a daily circulation of more than 1,800,000, ''The'' ''Chosun Ilbo'' has been audited annually since the Audit Bureau of Circulations was established in 1993. ''The'' ''Chosun Ilbo'' and its subsidiary company, Digital Chosun, operate the ''Chosun.com'' news website, which also publishes news in English, Chinese, and Japanese.

History

The Chosun Ilbo Establishment Union was created in September 1919. ''The'' ''Chosun Ilbo'' newspaper was founded on 5 March 1920 by Sin Sogu with the financial support of the Daejong Business Association. Cho Jin-Tae, the vice-chairman of the Daejong Business Association was appointed the first President of the newspaper in 1920. However, as the Business Association failed to pay promised finances, the relationship between the Association and ''The Chosun Ilbo'' broke down five months after its founding, and Cho Jin-Tae was replaced by Yoo Moon-Hwan on 15 August 1920. On 6 April 1921, after only a year of publishing, ''The Chosun Ilbo'' went on hiatus due to financial troubles. On 31 July 1940, the newspaper published "Lessons of American Realism", the fourth part of an editorial series. Ten days later – following issue 6,923 – the paper was declared officially discontinued by the Japanese ruling government. In the twenty years since its founding, the paper had been suspended by the Japanese government four times, and its issues confiscated over five hundred times before 1932. When Korea gained independence in 1945, ''The Chosun Ilbo'' resumed publication after a five-year, three-month hiatus. On 1 March 1999, ''The Chosun Ilbo'' announced that starting the following day (2 March 1999), it would be switching to the horizontal left-to-right writing style already adopted by most other newspapers by the time, ahead of the paper's 79th anniversary. It also made a commitment to preserve and continue using ''

hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

'' characters despite the change. Consequently, the 1 March 1999 issue (Issue No. 24305) became the last issue of ''The Chosun Ilbo'' written in the vertical right-to-left style and the last mainstream Korean paper that published in the style. All issues since 2 March 1999 have been in the modern horizontal left-to-right style.

Subsidiaries

Besides the daily newspaper, the company also publishes the ''Weekly Chosun'', the '' Monthly Chosun'', ''Digital Chosun'', ''Edu-Chosun'', and ''ChosunBiz''.

Controversies

''The'' ''Chosun Ilbo'' has historically taken a hardline stance against North Korea. For example, it opposed South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's Sunshine Policy, aimed at engaging North Korea through cooperation, mitigating the gap in

economic power Economic power refers to the ability of countries, businesses or individuals to make decisions on their own that benefit them. Scholars of international relations also refer to the economic power of a country as a factor influencing its power in ...

and restoring lost communication between the two Koreas. For this reason, the newspaper has attracted heavy criticism and threats from the North. On 6 April 2019,

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

described ''The Chosun Ilbo'' as "an outlet notorious for its dubious and politically motivated" reporting on North Korea. On 31 May 2019, the newspaper reported that, based on "an unidentified source", the head diplomat of North Korea's nuclear envoy Kim Hyok-chol, had been executed by a North Korean Government firing squad. However, two days later, on 2 June 2019, the top diplomat was seen at a concert sitting a few seats away from North Korea's leader

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

. The Educational Broadcasting System's popular instructor Choi Tae-seong, sued a ''Chosun Ilbo'' reporter for publishing an article that defamed him as a supporter of North Korea. ''The Chosun Ilbo'' has been accused of being "''chinilbanminjokhaengwi''" (친일반민족행위, 親日反民族行爲, "pro-Japanese anti-nationalist activist"), because of controversy over its advocacy of the

Korea under Japanese rule From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

. In 2005, the South Korean government and Korean nationalist civic activists investigated whether Chosun Ilbo ' collaborated' with the Japanese Empire. ''The Chosun Ilbo'' published articles described as excessively praising the

Imperial House of Japan The is the reigning dynasty of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present constitution of Japan, the emperor is "the symbol of the State ...

every year from 1938 to 1940. Until 1987, the newspaper had reported favorably on South Korea's military dictatorships. In 2002, the prosecution sought a sentence of seven years in prison and a fine of 12 billion won for ''The Chosun Ilbo'' chairman Bang Sang-hoon, who was indicted on charges of tax evasion and embezzlement. Chairman Bang was accused of evading 6.2 billion won in gift and corporate taxes, as well as embezzling 4.5 billion won in company funds. He was arrested in August of the previous year but was released on bail and has been on trial since. On June 29 2006, he was indicted for evading 2.35 billion won in gift taxes by transferring 65,000 shares of ''The Chosun Ilbo'' to his son through a nominal trust, and for misusing 2.57 billion won in company funds under the names of family members to increase capital in affiliates like Jogwang Publishing and Sports Chosun. The Supreme Court sentenced Chairman Bang to three years in prison with a four-year suspended sentence and a fine of 2.5 billion won for tax evasion and the misappropriation of company funds.

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chosun Ilbo 1920 establishments in Korea Korean-language newspapers Daily newspapers published in South Korea Conservative media in South Korea Right-wing newspapers Anti-communism in South Korea English-language newspapers Newspapers established in 1920 Newspapers published in Seoul Newspapers published in Korea under Japanese rule