Michael Breen is an
authorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and
journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
covering
NorthThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and
South KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. He has a regular newspaper column in
The Korea TimesThe Korea Times is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea, along with The Korea Herald and The JoongAng Daily. It is part of the same newspaper group as Hankook Ilbo, a major Korean language daily...
, an English-language daily in South Korea.
Career
Breen is a graduate of the
University of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
and first began living in South Korea in 1982. He has covered North and South Korea for several newspapers including
The GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and the
Washington Times. In 1994, he became a management consultant specializing in North Korea, with clients such as
Coca-ColaCoca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
. He entered the
public relationsPublic relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
field in 1999 as the managing director of Merit/Burson-Marsteller. where he remained until 2004. He is now president of Insight Communications Consultants, a public relations firm. Breen was made an honorary citizen of
SeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
in 2001.
A former follower and biographer of the controversial Unification Church leader
Sun Myung MoonSun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
, Breen said in a 2005
American Prospect story to have brokered talks in the early 1990s between
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
and the North Korean leadership, laying groundwork for a visit by the staff of Moon's
Washington Times. Breen has also authored a church-approved biography of Moon,
Sun Myung Moon: The Early Years.
Newspaper column
As of May 2008, Breen has a featured column for
The Korea TimesThe Korea Times is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea, along with The Korea Herald and The JoongAng Daily. It is part of the same newspaper group as Hankook Ilbo, a major Korean language daily...
, an English-language daily in South Korea, where he comments on Korean society, culture, and political issues. In December 2009, Breen wrote a satirical column in the paper which lampooned various South Korean public figures, including president
Lee Myung-bakLee Myung-bak is the President of South Korea. Prior to his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction and the mayor of Seoul. He is married to Kim Yoon-ok and has three daughters and one son. His older brother is Lee Sang-deuk, a South Korean politician. He attends the...
, entertainer Rain, and
SamsungThe Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
. Displeased with Breen's allusions to their corruption and arrogance, Samsung sued him and the paper for libel; the paper was later dropped as a respondent, but the suit against Breen himself remained.
Michael Breen lawsuit
On December 25, 2009, Michael Breen wrote a controversial column that was meant to be satire. Breen depicted Samsung offering gifts to politicians, and also depicted Korean singer Rain as "Pee" although this was also a spoof-pronunciation by the older British singer Susan Boyle, and meant to make fun of Boyle and not Rain. However, the reference was interpreted by Koreans to mean something offensive about Rain himself. Further, the South Korean media mis-interpreted the entire column as an insult to Korea itself. On December 29, 2009, Samsung sues Mike Breen and the
Korea TimesThe Korea Times is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea, along with The Korea Herald and The JoongAng Daily. It is part of the same newspaper group as Hankook Ilbo, a major Korean language daily...
, for $1 million, claiming criminal defamation over a satirical column published on Christmas Day 2009. Samsung dropped the charges following the correction and Michael Breen's apology.
The Korea Times issued this apology:
Published works
- Sun Myung Moon: The Early Years. Refuge Books, 1999.
- Kim Jong-Il: North Korea's Dear Leader. John Wiley and Sons, 2004. ISBN 978-0470821312.
- The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, Where Their Future Lies
The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, Where Their Future Lies is a non-fiction book by journalist Michael Breen. It was first published in 1998 by Thomas Dunne Books.-External links:*...
. St. Martin's Griffin, 2004.
External links