찌라시 언론 기레기 시리즈 [7]: 조선일보 강인선 특파원



조중동을 중심으로 한 한국판 자칭 보수언론만의 특징이 있다. 우선 보수 이념관 거리가 멀고, 나머지를 네 마디로 요약하자면, 친 부정부패, 친독재, 친일, 종미다. 처음 3가지는 설명할 필요조차 없이 자명하고, 마지막 종미 부분에 대해 부가 설명을 하려고 한다. 

2009년 7·7 디도스 사건이 나자마자 국정원은 제대로 된 수사도 하지 않고 딱 이틀 만에 북한의 110호 연구소 짓이라 서둘러 공표했다. 보수 언론은 그를 분석 없이 받아쓰기로 보도했지만, 일부 진보 언론과 이성적인 사람들이 미국 언론과 보안 전문가들의 다른 주장을 들어 합리적 의구심을 표했다. 이에 보수 언론은 북한을 두둔한다며 종북몰이로 대응했다. 

희한한 건 그러한 의문점을 제시한 미국 언론과 전문가들에겐 종북이라 입도 떼지 못하는 거다. 그건 똑같은 말을 해도 한국인이면 종북이고 외국인이면 아니니, 말도 되지 않는 떼를 쓴다는 사실을 자진 폭로하는 거다. 천안함, 세월호에 관한 정부의 미심쩍은 조사 결과와 그에 대한 이성적 비판 모두 마찬가지다. 

자칭 보수언론의 또 하나 특징은 진보 진영을 직접 비판할 논리력이 없기도 하고, 또 실력 없는 자기보단 무조건 외국 언론인, 학자들의 말과 글에서 권위를 느끼는 사대주의자라, 자신의 주장을 위해 꼭 외신을 인용한다. 그래서 부족한 영어 실력으로 오역하거나 때론 고의로 왜곡한다. 

2009년 디도스 공격 1년 후 당시 사건을 수사 중이던 한 미국 정부 보안 전문가가 북한의 짓일 가능성은 거의 없고 오히려 남한의 친정부 세력의 조작극처럼 보인다고 인터뷰한 AP 통신 기사가 있었다. 외신이라면 실시간으로 베껴대는 보수 언론사 특파원들은 하나도 빠짐없이 모두 침묵했다. 그러니까 지지리도 영알못인 특파원들이 인용한 외신 보도는 사주가 지지하는 정치 세력의 이익과 부합해야만 하고, 거기에 억지로 짜 맞추다 보니 자주 오역하는 거다. 

강인선 기자

여기 조선일보 워싱턴 특파원 강인선의 2018년 4월 9일 자 구태의연한 기사가 있다. 

[강인선의 워싱턴 Live] "한국 정부가 美싱크탱크 검열"… 워싱턴이 발칵 

그리고 기사의 그러한 모순점을 정확히 지적한 반박기사가 있다. 

"워싱턴이 발칵" 조선일보, 미 학자들 글 '입맛대로 왜곡'

여전히 1970년대식 독재 시절 구습을 답습하는 사주의 횡포, 상사/동료의 압력, 목구멍이 포도청 등등의 너절한 핑계.... 조선일보에 입사하며 첫 단추를 잘못 끼운 거 나도 이해한다. 그러나 아무리 그래도 기자는 궁극적으로 사실을 알리는 직업이다. 거짓임을 알면서도 기사를 쓴다면, 그건 단순히 비윤리적인 것일 뿐 아니라 범죄행위일 가능성도 있다는 걸 잊지 말자. 위 사진의 "기레기는 필요 없다."가 받아들이기 어려운 말이라면, "내가 기레기일 필요는 없다."로 바꾸어 10번만 되뇌어 보길 바란다. 

자칭 보수언론 사주에게 충고한다. 요즘은 인터넷으로 전 세계가 동시 생활권이고, 심지어 같은 도시에서도 직접 대면할 필요 없이 인터넷과 문자로 정보를 주고받는다. 사주의 유학생 아들이었던 방상훈을 회삿돈으로 지원하기 위한 꼼수가 아니라면, 특파원이란 직함으로 영어도 버벅거리는 인간을 비싼 돈 들여 파견할 필요가 없다는 말이다. 기사 작성하며 외국 인물 이름 발음도 제대로 파악하지 못하는 실정이다. 

유명 외국 언론사들은 나라마다 해외특파원이 없고, 예를 들자면 중국, 일본, 한국 등 합해 한 명 현지특파원으로 파견하는 게 추세다. 한국의 연합뉴스같은 언론사는 정부의 예산 지원까지 받으면서 여전히 떼거리로 단체소풍 보내듯 한 도시에 여러 명 파견하기도 한다. 

한국 사회에서 가장 부패하고 무능한 집단인 기성 언론의 적폐청산의 길은 아직 멀고도 멀다.


AP 통신 기사 전문:

July 3, 2010

US largely ruling out NKorea in 2009 cyberattacks

By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer

Don Jackson, director of intelligence at SecureWorks is pictured outside the security operations center


 
(AP) -- U.S. officials have largely ruled out North Korea as the origin of a computer attack last July that took down U.S. and South Korean government websites, according to cybersecurity experts.

But authorities are not much closer than they were a year ago to knowing exactly who did it - and why.

In the days after the fast-moving, widespread attack, analysis pointed to North Korea as the likely starting point because code used in the attack included Korean language and other indicators. Experts now say there is no conclusive evidence that North Korea, or any other nation, orchestrated it.
 
The crippling strikes, known as "denial of service" attacks, did not compromise security or breach any sensitive data or critical systems. Officials and experts say the agencies are better prepared today. But they acknowledge that many government and business sites remain vulnerable to similar intrusions.
 
The incidents underscore the increasing threats posed by computer-based attacks, and how they can disrupt service as well as inflame political tensions.
 
Pinpointing the culprits for such attacks is difficult or even impossible, officials say. Some suggest the July 4 weekend attacks a year ago may have been designed as a political broadside.
 
These officials point suspicions at South Koreans, possibly activists, who are concerned about the threat from North Korea and would be looking to ramp up antagonism toward their neighbor. Several experts familiar with the investigation spoke on condition of anonymity because the results are not final.
 
According to U.S. officials and private computer analysts, the attacks were largely restricted to vandalizing the public Web pages of about a half dozen federal agencies, including the Treasury Department and the Federal Trade Commission. About three dozen other sites were targeted, including some private companies and a number of South Korean government sites, which reportedly had the most damage.
 
While the questions of who did it and why are unanswered, many investigators and experts now do not consider it a critical case.
 
"It's about as frightening as someone driving around the block blowing their horn a lot," said James Lewis, cybersecurity expert and a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "A lot of people could have done it, and it doesn't leave a lot of clues to their identity."
 
To Don Jackson, director of threat intelligence for Atlanta-based SecureWorks, a computer security consulting company, "it's a dead end as far as who did it. I don't think we've ever gone past that."
 
Those responsible, he said, "pulled it off so well, managed it so well - this was someone who has experience at running these types of attacks."
 
Jackson, whose company was among several private firms that studied the codes after the attack, said one possibility is that hackers in South Korea were the culprits.
 
South Korean sources had a mission and may have "wanted someone blamed for it," said Jackson. "It would further the point that North Korea has elite squads" of hackers targeting Seoul.
 
South Korean officials have pointed to North Korea as the suspected assailant, and experts agree that it is within the North's abilities to wage cyberattacks. More recently, however, a government-run website in South Korea was hit with a similar - although smaller - denial of service attack that officials said was traced to China.
 
"There are a number of national intelligence agencies who are creating cybercapabilities. It's a natural area of exploration," said retired Gen. Wesley Clark. "I wouldn't underestimate North Korea's potential in this space."
 
Denial of service attacks, Lewis said, don't leave detailed forensic clues that a more directed intrusion, such as an effort to breach a sensitive government program, might leave.
 
Still, officials worry that even a large, well executed attack against critical controlling computer servers could interrupt service if directed at a power company or utility. A strike could disrupt financial markets if directed at Wall Street or hinder travel if aimed at transportation sectors.
 
Those systems tend to be more heavily protected. But an attack against a bank's website could prevent customers from having online access to their accounts and prevent them from paying bills. Such attacks can prove lucrative as an extortion tool, when hackers take down popular gambling sites and demand payment to end the disruption.
 
Despite the lack of a clear culprit, there are things investigators do know about last year's denial of service attack.
 
The malicious computer code was distributed through nine main control servers in four countries. It fanned out to infect about 60,000 computers around the world. Those computers - likely on the desktops of innocent victims - were linked together in what is called a botnet, and they flooded government websites with traffic, knocking them offline or slowing them down over the Independence Day holiday weekend.
 
Altogether, 43 sites were targeted, and the size of the attack suggested it required several people to carry it out. While some Treasury, FTC and State Department sites were slowed or shut down by the software attack, others such as the White House and Department of Homeland Security were able to fend it off with little disruption.
 
Other targets included Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange, Voice of America, U.S. Postal Service, and Amazon and Yahoo.
 
Government officials and analysts say there has been some improvements in dealing with future strikes. Private contractors, such as the web hosting giant Akamai, has a redundant system that will move government sites to other servers if one is seeing an unusual or massive flow of traffic.
 
Agencies are now better prepared.
 
But, Jackson said, "as far as any better capability in tracking down actors or in attributing attacks to any individual or group, I don't know that we're any further along. I would seriously doubt it."

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