언론법학자로서 백암(白巖) 김동철 교수의 생애와 사상

Finding the direction of education and research on the media law must be preceded by understanding the academic efforts and their results. Among the first-generation media law scholars, Professor Baekam Kim Dong-cheol is considered a scholar who played a leading role in expanding media law and ethics research in the field of media studies, strengthened the position of media law education in universities, and contributed greatly to the development of the academic societies. With the aim of highlighting his practical contributions and academic achievements in education and research on the media law, this study examined the characteristics of his achievements and reviewed the academic ideas that could be found in the study. Professor Kim Dong-cheol devoted himself to fostering female journalists through media law education and contributed to expanding the horizons of journalism, and expanded women's opportunities for social participation and self-realization by leading the establishment and growth of Ewha Womans University Lifelong Education Center. Four characteristics of his research on media law can be summarized as follows. First, he emphasized the ethics of the media based on academic beliefs about the relationship between the social responsibility and the regulation of the media. Then he defined the media ethics as a moral standard that the media must comply with in the coverage process and reporting in order to protect the freedom of speech and perform its function as a public medium. Second, he was a scholar who devoted himself to research on the limits of state secret reporting and freedom of speech. A study of the Pentagon decision in the United States (1971) emphasized that the main function of the media is to check and criticize the government, and that the media should exist for the sake of people's right to know. Third, while dealing with all issues of freedom of speech, he pioneered new research topics such as citizenship interests, the crime of publicity of suspected facts, and the attribution of the legal responsibility under the media. In addition, he attempted a value-judgment interpretation on media law cases only to expand the scope of media law research and pursue a change in research methodology. Finally, he emphasized the importance of observing the social responsibility of the media on the ground that the failure of the media to fulfill its responsibilities results in public regulations on the media by the state. In particular, it is worth noting that he includes citizens along with the media as subjects of the social responsibility, which is consistent with the recent media environment in which the general public does not simply stay as a user but even acts as a producer. Being an important cornerstone for a democratic society that respects human rights and fulfills its responsibilities in all communication processes with freedom of expression as a key keyword, media law research has been an area that requires education and research on both theory and practice at the same time. The exploration on Professor Kim Dong-cheol's education and academic performance on media law allows us to know the history and characteristics of early media law education and research as well as the political and social situation at the time, serving as a link between the pioneers of media law research and subsequent generations.