About the coverage and broadcast of the Australian broadcaster 7NEWS, dated 2 July 2023, about Christian Gospel Mission (Providence):

CGM is a religious organization that holds firmly to the beliefs and virtues taught through the Bible, and we have always been honest and transparent in our actions and activities.

This was the basis of why we did not have any reservations, when 7NEWS had asked CGM to film Wolmyeong-dong and interview its representative. CGM, which had nothing to hide, gladly accepted their interview request, on the mutual agreement that 7NEWS would cover CGM from an objective point of view, away from partiality, and sufficiently represent CGM in its programme, unlike the direction of other media outlets that have previously reported about CGM. However, 7NEWS broke this mutual agreement.

Firstly, on June 28, the Spotlight trailer was uploaded to South Korea’s anti-CGM group Internet bulletin board ahead of 7NEWS’ website & social media, without any prior consultation with CGM. This itself would already be very unethical practice of a reputable media company.

Despite having filmed for almost an entire day at both Wolmyeong-dong and directly inside CGM’s church, the trailer only featured provocative footages that were very selectively picked to contribute to their malicious narrative. It was clear that the content was strongly biased and that there was no impartial and objective coverage from the beginning.

Secondly, 7NEWS seriously distorted the truth by alleging that it had “infiltrated” Wolmyeong-dong, even though the filming and interviews were done with proper mutual agreement. 7NEWS is also inaccurate in claiming that they are the first external media to film in Wolmyeong-dong.
CGM has always been forthcoming about engaging with the public and media who are willing to present an unbiased view of our religious organization in its entirety, and will continue to do so.

In the pursuit of trying to portray itself as an unbiased source of truth and hero of social justice, 7NEWS had, in reality, used many deceptive means to craft a sensational narrative from select gatekeeping content, without upholding the basics of ethical journalism to present an unbiased opinion.

Despite being unfairly and negatively portrayed by 7NEWS and other media, CGM will continue to carry out our activities in an open and transparent manner. But we ask of the media to present our religious organization fairly in its entirety, without taking things out of context.