Controversy is spreading over the deletion of an exclusive article by a local media outlet that covered suspicions of corruption in the bidding process of public institutions, just 2 hours after its publication. The background of the article's deletion and the controversy surrounding the execution of advertising funds by public institutions are now being discussed.

The article in question reportedly dealt with a tip-off regarding the leakage of the evaluation committee list and demands for bribes during a 4.1 billion won contract bidding process initiated by an educational institution. The article included attempts by officials from the educational institution to persuade, testimonies from internal whistleblowers, and the institution's stance, but it was voluntarily deleted shortly after its publication.

In connection with this, the Jeonbuk branch of the National Government Employees' Union raised suspicions that "public institutions may have exerted influence by excessively paying advertising fees to a specific media outlet." They further argued that "whether this unusual deletion of the article is related to media control through public budgets or the loss of autonomy within the media should be clearly investigated."

According to the data released by the government employees' union, the advertising revenue received by the media outlet from the Jeonbuk Education Office increased from 3.3 million won in 2021 to 53.9 million won in 2024, a significant 16.3-fold increase. This far exceeds the average increase rate of 2-3 times seen in other major local media outlets during the same period.

The Jeonbuk Education Office denied any allegations of pressure, stating that "there is no record of requesting the deletion of articles or contacting the media outlet." A spokesperson from their office added, "There has never been any instance of the superintendent directly making a phone call."

The local branch of the media outlet did not provide a clear explanation for the reason behind the article's deletion. According to multiple reports, they explained that "there was no specific reason for the deletion at that time."

The Jeonbuk Democratic Media Citizens' Union stated in a commentary that "this issue is an important opportunity to examine the autonomy of local media, transparency in the execution of public institution promotional budgets, and the independence of the media," and emphasized the need to scrutinize whether the alternative media spirit of the headquarters is equally applied to the local branches.

They further stressed that "structures that can indirectly or directly influence reporting through advertising fees must be strictly regulated, and even if the article deletion was an internal autonomous decision, the process and responsibility should be clearly explained."

This controversy highlights the need for institutional discussions on the execution structure of public institution promotional budgets, editorial autonomy of media outlets, and ensuring citizens' right to know. However, the direct correlation between article deletion and advertising fund execution has not been confirmed so far, and further explanations from relevant institutions and media outlets are awaited.