Journalism ethics have met their demise in Korea. Media outlets in the country regurgitate the same articles like mindless parrots, present lackluster reports as news, and fabricate misleading, sensational headlines. The once-respected pillars of truthful reporting seem to have crumbled, leaving behind a landscape of compromised integrity. Amid this collapse of journalism and declining public trust, journalists have the responsibility to restore the credit and honor of the media.  
  Reporters and the press should stop using misleading, provocative headlines. Most Koreans consume news using web portals like Naver and Daum, which have led to the rise of sensationalism. The reason is that the news media must compete for more views and clicks. For instance, the headline of a news article would be like “celebrity A cheated on celebrity B” when the actual news is about a drama they are filming together. This is just one common example among numerous articles, regardless of their section. As the news media is also a business company, trying to gain more profit is a natural decision. However, they have shifted excessively to a profitable business and have become a greedy media. News media are the ears and voices of the public before a business. They should be responsible for their actions and take the proper role of the media.
  Journalists should cover their articles and double-check the facts in their content. In a similar sense to the rise of sensationalism, fact-checking has been discarded in favor of speed and stimulating content to get more clicks. A perfect example is the recent article about the crisis of POSTECH. The article used intentionally misleading statistics and had incorrectly pieced together information, attempting to propagate that POSTECH is in a “crisis.” It is a shame that a journalist’s writing is illogical and lacks relevant, supporting evidence. Moreover, it is not hard to find articles that seem to be copied and pasted from another news article or articles with grammatical errors. This is the result of journalists only focusing on the speed of reporting news rather than accuracy. These kinds of practices have already sowed seeds of doubt and confusion among the public. 
  The decay of journalism ethics in Korea needs immediate attention. Media outlets have surrendered to sensationalism, compromising truthfulness for clicks. Journalists must now shoulder the responsibility of restoring media integrity, rejecting misleading headlines in favor of ethical reporting. While competition and profitability are inevitable, the media should strike a balance, acknowledging their role as the public’s voice. It is time for reporters to reclaim their integrity, resisting the pressures of sensationalism and reaffirming their commitment to unadulterated truthfulness.