 |
 |
This news release has been expired
|
RFA Names Award-Winning South Korean Anchor To Head Korean Service
Washington, DC
Friday, June 22, 2007
WASHINGTON—Radio Free Asia (RFA) has appointed award-winning South Korean radio and television anchor Kwang Chool Lee as director of RFA's Korean-language service, which broadcasts four hours daily to North Korea.
Mr. Lee succeeds RFA-Korean founding director Jaehoon Ahn, who is retiring. Mr. Lee joined RFA as Seoul bureau chief in June 2007. He will take up his duties as service director in Washington, DC, on Oct. 1.
"I am honored to begin this position at this critical time in North Korean history and in North-South relations," he said. "I look forward to this tremendous new challenge"
Prior to joining RFA, Mr. Lee worked for 26 years as anchor, correspondent, editor, and bureau chief for the South Korean broadcaster KBS, where his tenure included long-term postings in New York and as Washington bureau chief. Mr. Lee also launched the first Korean broadcasting operation in Moscow after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
He is a past Nieman Fellow at Harvard University (2000) and the author of two books, Understanding American Expressions (1998) and Global Korea (1994). A graduate of Hankuk University in Seoul and George Mason University in Virginia, Mr. Lee has covered the U.S. government, the United Nations, economics, and international affairs. He is married and the father of two daughters.
"I am confident Mr. Lee will bring dynamic leadership and great expertise to RFA-Korean," Mr. Ahn said. "RFA-Korean has established itself over the last 10 years as a critical source of news for North Koreans, who live in the most tightly controlled media environment on Earth. I know Mr. Lee will sustain and build on our accomplishments"
RFA's Korean service broadcasts four hours daily to North Korea and maintains a dynamic Korean-language Web site.
Nuclear armed and profoundly isolated, North Korea consistently ranks last on the Reporters Without Borders annual survey of media freedom around the world. On May 11, its hardline government resumed jamming of independent and dissident radio stations broadcasting in Korean, including RFA.
RFA is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information in nine native Asian languages to listeners who lack access to full and free news media. The purpose of RFA is to provide a forum for a variety of opinions and voices from within these Asian countries.
RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. RFA adheres to the highest standards of journalism and strives for accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content. RFA broadcasts only in local languages and dialects - in Mandarin, Cantonese, Uyghur, and the Wu dialect; Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham); Burmese; Khmer to Cambodia; Korean to North Korea; Lao; and Vietnamese.
Mr. Lee succeeds RFA-Korean founding director Jaehoon Ahn, who is retiring. Mr. Lee joined RFA as Seoul bureau chief in June 2007. He will take up his duties as service director in Washington, DC, on Oct. 1.
"I am honored to begin this position at this critical time in North Korean history and in North-South relations," he said. "I look forward to this tremendous new challenge"
Prior to joining RFA, Mr. Lee worked for 26 years as anchor, correspondent, editor, and bureau chief for the South Korean broadcaster KBS, where his tenure included long-term postings in New York and as Washington bureau chief. Mr. Lee also launched the first Korean broadcasting operation in Moscow after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
He is a past Nieman Fellow at Harvard University (2000) and the author of two books, Understanding American Expressions (1998) and Global Korea (1994). A graduate of Hankuk University in Seoul and George Mason University in Virginia, Mr. Lee has covered the U.S. government, the United Nations, economics, and international affairs. He is married and the father of two daughters.
"I am confident Mr. Lee will bring dynamic leadership and great expertise to RFA-Korean," Mr. Ahn said. "RFA-Korean has established itself over the last 10 years as a critical source of news for North Koreans, who live in the most tightly controlled media environment on Earth. I know Mr. Lee will sustain and build on our accomplishments"
RFA's Korean service broadcasts four hours daily to North Korea and maintains a dynamic Korean-language Web site.
Nuclear armed and profoundly isolated, North Korea consistently ranks last on the Reporters Without Borders annual survey of media freedom around the world. On May 11, its hardline government resumed jamming of independent and dissident radio stations broadcasting in Korean, including RFA.
RFA is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information in nine native Asian languages to listeners who lack access to full and free news media. The purpose of RFA is to provide a forum for a variety of opinions and voices from within these Asian countries.
RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. RFA adheres to the highest standards of journalism and strives for accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content. RFA broadcasts only in local languages and dialects - in Mandarin, Cantonese, Uyghur, and the Wu dialect; Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham); Burmese; Khmer to Cambodia; Korean to North Korea; Lao; and Vietnamese.
Sarah Jackson-Han
Director of Communications
Radio Free Asia
Washington, DC
202-530-7774
202-530-7794
