“The Whistleblower” in Journalism – Seoul

Choi Seung-ho, one of the most prominent and respected investigative journalists in South Korea, was the face of PD Notebook documentary program until he was fired from Munhwa Broadcasting Corp. in 2012 amid a flurry of layoffs of MBC journalists. He is now an anchor and producer at Newstapa, an independent online news outlet run by The Korea Center for Investigative Journalism (KCIJ). With his works, Choi has often challenged South Korea’s most powerful groups and figures. His works revealed how South Korean prosecutors received sponsorship from businesses and who was behind multi-trillion won river project. In 2005, he led a team of investigative journalists at MBC to expose how Hwang Woo-suk’s stem cell research, then hailed as a scientific breakthrough, was fabricated and illegally used eggs from female lab workers. Choi and his team’s work was then met by a huge backlash from public who saw Hwang as a national hero.

Choi will join AAJA-Asia members in Seoul to talk about the stem cell scandal, challenges facing investigative journalists in South Korea, why he was fired from MBC and highlights of works from Newstapa. He will take questions from audiences.

You can follow Choi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbc_pdchoi