Michael Breen (author)

Last updated
Michael Breen
Born (1963-07-31) 31 July 1963 (age 61)
Aylesbury, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
OccupationWriter

Michael Breen (born 31 July 1963) is an English author, consultant and journalist covering North and South Korea.

Contents

Breen writes occasional opinion columns for international and South Korean media. Since 2000, he has written a featured column for The Korea Times , an English-language daily in South Korea, where he comments on South Korean society, culture, and political issues. [1]

Career

Breen is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and first began living in South Korea in 1982. [2] He was the correspondent in Korea for The Guardian and the Washington Times . [3] In 1987, he became the first non-Korean president of the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club. In 1994, he became a management consultant specializing in North Korea, with clients such as Coca-Cola. He entered the public relations field in 1999 as the managing director of Merit/Burson-Marsteller, where he remained until 2004. He is the founder and CEO of Insight Communications Consultants, a Seoul-based public relations firm. Breen was made an honorary citizen of Seoul in 2001.

A former follower and biographer of the controversial Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon, Breen was described in a 2005 American Prospect story as having brokered talks in the early 1990s between Moon and the North Korean leadership, laying groundwork for a visit by the staff of Moon's Washington Times . [4] Breen has also authored an unauthorized biography of Moon, Sun Myung Moon: The Early Years. [5]

Controversy

Lawsuit

On 25 December 2009, Breen wrote a satirical column in the paper which lampooned various South Korean public figures, including president Lee Myung-bak, singer Rain, and Samsung. Displeased with Breen's allusions to their corruption and arrogance, Samsung filed civil and criminal suits against him and the paper for libel. After an apology and after Breen told prosecutors during interrogation that the column was his own idea, the paper was dropped as a respondent, but the suit against Breen himself remained. [6] [7] One South Korean media outlet claimed that the entire column as an insult to the country of South Korea itself. [8] [9] [10] Samsung dropped the civil suit after an apology by Breen. The criminal case went to trial but was thrown out by the judge on the grounds that there was "no victim."

Published works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sun Myung Moon</span> Korean religious leader (1920–2012)

Sun Myung Moon was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unification Church, whose members consider him and his wife Hak Ja Han to be their "True Parents", and of its widely noted "Blessing" or mass wedding ceremonies. The author of the Unification Church's religious scripture, the Divine Principle, he was an anti-communist and an advocate for Korean reunification, for which he was recognized by the governments of both North and South Korea. Businesses he promoted included News World Communications, an international news media corporation known for its American subsidiary The Washington Times, and Tongil Group, a South Korean business group (chaebol), as well as other related organizations.

Bo Hi Pak was a prominent member of the Unification Church. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a major leader in the church movement, leading projects such as newspapers, schools, performing arts projects, political projects such as the anti-communist organization CAUSA International, and was president of the Unification Church International 1977–1991. He was also the president of Little Angels Children's Folk Ballet of Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Byung-chul</span> South Korean businessman (1910–1987)

Lee Byung-chul was a South Korean businessman who founded the Samsung Group, the country's largest chaebol (conglomerate). Lee founded Samsung in 1938, at the age of 28. He is recognized as the most successful businessman in South Korea's history.

The Korea Times (Korean: 코리아타임스) is a daily English-language newspaper in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the Hankook Ilbo, a major Korean-language daily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unification Church</span> International new religious movement

The Unification Church (Korean: 통일교) is a new religious movement derived from Christianity, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. Sun Myung Moon (1920–2012) began gaining followers after the Second World War. On 1 May 1954 in Seoul, South Korea, Moon formally founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC), the Unification Church's full name, until 1994, when it was officially changed to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. It has a presence in approximately 100 countries around the world. Its leaders are Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han, whom their followers honor with the title "True Parents".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seongnam FC</span> South Korean professional association football club

Seongnam FC is a South Korean professional football club based in Seongnam that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in 1989 as Ilhwa Chunma Football Club, the club has won seven national league titles, three FA Cups, three League Cups, and two AFC Champions League titles. Seongnam also placed fifth in the IFFHS Asian Clubs of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotte Giants</span> Baseball club from South Korea

The Lotte Giants are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Kun-hee</span> South Korean business magnate (1942–2020)

Lee Kun-hee was a South Korean business magnate who served as the chairman of the Samsung Group from 1987 to 2008, and again from 2010 until his death in 2020. He is also credited with the transformation of Samsung to one of the world's largest business entities that engages in semiconductors, smartphones, electronics, shipbuilding, construction, and other businesses. Since Lee Kun-hee became the chairman of Samsung, the company became the world's largest manufacturer of smartphones, memory chips, and appliances. He was the third son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul. With an estimated net worth of US$21 billion at the time of his death, he was the richest person in South Korea, a position that he had held since 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chung Mong-koo</span> South Korean business magnate (born 1938)

Chung Mong-koo is a South Korean business magnate. He is the honorary chairman and former CEO of Hyundai Motor Group, Korea's second largest chaebol that manages 54 subsidiaries including Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, and Hyundai Steel. He started his career in 1970, joining the engineering & construction division of the group. Chung succeeded his father, Chung Ju-yung, the founder of the conglomerate known as the Hyundai Group. When the conglomerate split into several parts in 1999, Chung Mong-koo took over the Hyundai Motor division. He is the eldest surviving son of Chung Ju-yung's eight sons.

News World Communications Inc. is an American international news media corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Myung-bak</span> President of South Korea from 2008 to 2013

Lee Myung-bak often referred to by his initials MB, is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the 10th president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the mayor of Seoul from 2002 to 2006.

Julia H. Moon also known as Hoon Sook Moon is the General Director of Universal Ballet in South Korea, and daughter-in-law of Sun Myung Moon, founder of the ballet company. She was the prima ballerina of the company.

The Universal Ballet was founded in Seoul, South Korea in 1984. One of only five professional ballet companies in South Korea, the company performs a repertory that includes many full length classical story ballets, together with shorter contemporary works and original full-length Korean ballets created especially for the company. The company is supported by followers of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, with Moon's daughter-in-law Julia H. Moon, who was the company's prima ballerina until 2001, now serving as General Director.

Daniel G. Fefferman is a church leader and activist for the freedom of religion. He is a member of the Unification Church of the United States, a branch of the international Unification Church, founded by Sun Myung Moon in South Korea in 1954.

Tongil Group is a Korean business group (chaebol) associated with the Unification Church. It was founded in 1963 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon as a nonprofit organization which would provide revenue for the Unification Church. Its core focus was manufacturing but in the 1970s and 1980s it expanded by founding or acquiring businesses in pharmaceuticals, tourism, and publishing.

Donald Kirk is a veteran correspondent and author on conflict and crisis from Southeast Asia to the Middle East to Northeast Asia. Kirk has covered wars from Vietnam to Iraq, focusing on political, diplomatic, economic and social as well as military issues. He is also known for his reporting on North Korea, including the nuclear crisis, human rights and payoffs from South to North Korea preceding the June 2000 inter-Korean summit.[1]

During the 2007 South Korean presidential election, there were allegations made about presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak's relationship with a company called BBK. In 1999, Lee would meet Kim, with whom he established BBK and the LKE Bank. Their business enterprise went bankrupt less than a year later. Kim was investigated for alleged involvement in the massive embezzlement and for alleged stock price-manipulation.

<i>The Slingshot</i> South Korean television series

The Slingshot is a 2009 South Korean television series starring Park Yong-ha, Park Si-yeon, Kim Kang-woo, Han Yeo-woon, Lee Phillip, and Park Ki-woong. It aired on KBS2 from April 6 to June 9, 2009, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Young-sun</span> South Korean journalist and politician

Park Young-sun is a South Korean journalist-turned politician previously served as the second Minister of SMEs and Startups under President Moon Jae-in from April 2019 to 2021 and the first woman to lead SME-specialised government entity since its creation in 1996. Park is also a four-term parliamentarian of Democratic Party.

MBC TV is a South Korean free-to-air television channel and is considered the first private company in South Korea launched on 8 August 1969 and owned by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation.

References

  1. ↑ The Korea Times: Opinion
  2. ↑ LaMoshi, Gary (January 16, 2004). "Man of contradictions". Asia Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2004.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ↑ holtzbrinck publishers
  4. ↑ "Article | the American Prospect". Archived from the original on 2008-09-18. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  5. ↑ "Sun Myung Moon, the Early Years, 1920-53 - Michael Breen". Archived from the original on 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  6. ↑ "Samsung doesn't find satirical spoof amusing".
  7. ↑ “What People Got for Christmas” (full text) by Michael Breen December 25, 2009 (Note: Original publication was in the Korea Times, but later the original column was removed.)
  8. ↑ 한국 ´조롱´ 마이클 브린, "사과한 것 맞아?" (Michael Breen mocking Korea, Is he really going to apologize to us?) (in Korean)2010-05-14. EBN News
  9. ↑ "Samsung Sues Satirist, Claiming Criminal Defamation, Over Satirical Column Poking Fun At Samsung". Techdirt. 2010-05-11. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
  10. ↑ Glionna, John M. (2010-05-10). "Samsung doesn't find satirical spoof amusing". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.