KBS Unions Also Criticize Release of Han Dong-hoon and Lee Dong-jae Reporters' Transcript

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] As the recorded conversation between former Channel A reporter Dongjae Lee (35), who was imprisoned on suspicion of collusion between prosecutors and media, and Prosecutor General Donghoon Han (47, 27th Judicial Research and Training Institute) was made public, voices of self-reflection regarding related coverage have arisen within KBS.

The KBS Labor Union Emergency Committee issued a statement on the 20th, criticizing, "From whom was the recorded conversation obtained, and who acquired the full transcript? Was it directly reported?"

They added, "Although the KBS News Headquarters acknowledged the false report and apologized, there was no mention at all regarding the recorded conversation. Reporting the collusion between prosecutors and media, which could become a political controversy, as objective evidence without fact-checking the other party could deal a fatal blow to KBS's credibility if it turns out to be entirely false."

The conservative-leaning KBS Public Labor Union also released a statement on the same day, criticizing, "Both parties involved in the incident deny it, and the prosecution investigating the case also denies the facts. KBS has become isolated with no allies, like a duck egg in the Nakdong River."

Prosecutor Han filed a complaint with the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office the day before, requesting an investigation into KBS news personnel, officials from investigative agencies who provided false investigation information to KBS, and those who disseminated the article, on charges of defamation by publication related to this report.

In response, KBS apologized in the 9 o'clock news the day before, just one day after the report, stating, "We reconstructed the situation at the time by synthesizing various reports, but some parts of the article were expressed definitively without being accurately confirmed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.