An Analysis of Media Reports on Key Issues of Mad Cow Disease in South Korea

Since 2008, South Korea has seen controversy over the risk of mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE]) and its potential to lead to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. National news organizations have covered the topic differently according to their ideological positions. This study sought to quantify these differences focusing on the five key BSE-related issues covered by the media as follows: 1) possibility of confusion between vCJD and degenerative brain disease, 2) vCJD incidence in humans, 3) risk of vCJD infection from eating beef from cattle aged 30 months or older, 4) scope of specified risk, and 5) vulnerability of South Koreans to BSE infection. Based on the analysis of media reports on each issue, we found that the progressive media tended to emphasize the risks of BSE more than the conservative media who promoted views opposing those of the progressive media. National public broadcasting companies tended to take a neutral position. Despite the scientific findings on each issue mentioned above, the South Korean press has failed to provide them to the public unbiasedly. We identified the need to reduce politicization and promote scientific approach in media coverage of the issues of mad cow disease in South Korea.