Kim Sang-Man

▪ 1995

      Korean publisher (b. Jan. 19, 1910, Puan, North Cholla province, Korea—d. Jan. 26, 1994, Seoul, South Korea), as the publisher of Dong-A Ilbo, the country's most influential newspaper, was an intrepid defender of the freedom of the press. While conforming to the press censorship imposed by the dictatorial regimes of Presidents Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan, Kim quietly and shrewdly gained international support for resisting the measure. During a 1974 showdown between the Park government and striking Dong-A Ilbo journalists, who objected to censorship and the presence of Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) agents in newspaper offices, Kim used his international contacts to bring pressure on the government, which had threatened to suspend the paper. Though Park withdrew the KCIA agents, he ordered a complete commercial advertising boycott. Kim's stature was such that ordinary blue-collar workers joined intellectuals in buying newspaper advertising space to show their support for press freedom. The paper was brought to the brink of bankruptcy, and Kim was forced to let some reporters go and reassign others. During Chun's social purification campaign, a number of reporters were fired, but Kim found jobs for many of them in special research departments. Kim, who joined Dong-A Ilbo in 1949, served as executive director, president, publisher, chairman, and, from 1981, chairman emeritus. He was a graduate of the London School of Economics. He was named a Commander of the British Empire in 1974 and a honourary Knight of the British Empire in 1981.

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