A Protestant group has complained that most newspaper reports about Protestantism give a negative image to the public.

The Korean Association of Church Communication (KACC) monitored 159 reports in ten secular dailies from January to March 23.

KACC said 100 reports (63 percent) put forth a negative image and only seven reports showed a positive image. The remaining 52 were factual, it said.

In particular, of 52 reports dealing with the Protestants’ reactions over a recent controversy about a bill concerning sukuk (Islamic financial bonds), KACC said the media made three positive, 26 factual and 23 negative reports.

According to KACC, the press was not so critical about other religious groups’ opposition toward the government’s controversial river project.

The group claimed sukuks are “not a religious matter” and should be dealt with as social and economic matters.

But O Do-sun, director of the Korea Institute for Religious Freedom, said he was suspicious of these claims.

O said: “Local press usually focuses on facts when it deals with religious matters. I wonder if there are any grounds for defining ‘factual reports’ and ‘negative reports’ in the monitoring result.”

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