[Photo] Dismissed MBC journalist receives 5th Rhee Young-hee award

Lee Yong-ma, a journalist who was dismissed from his job at MBC over five-and-a-half years ago after helping organize a strike against political interference at the broadcasting company, was awarded the 5th Rhee Young-hee prize at a ceremony at the Hankyoreh headquarters in the Gongdeok District of Seoul on Dec. 1. Lee, who is in the terminal stage of peritoneal cancer, was applauded by about 250 of his colleagues when he received the prize. “The reason I came to this place is because of my twin sons. I hope they will never forget this memory,” he said.

The Rhee Young-hee award is named for the late South Korean journalist and professor who was well-known for his advocacy of a free press and his role in the struggle for democracy in the country. (by Lee Jung-woo, staff photographer)