KBS Anchor Lee So-jeong Criticizes Park Won-soon, What Do You Think?

KBS 'News 9' Anchor Lee So-jeong Criticizes Former Mayor Park by Quoting Novel Passage
Criticism of Public Broadcaster's Neutrality Violation Continues... 청원 Petition Also Submitted to Blue House

On the 16th, during KBS 'News 9' broadcast, anchor Lee So-jeong criticized the sexual harassment accusation case against the late Park Won-soon, former mayor of Seoul, by quoting a passage from a novel.
Photo by KBS 'News 9' broadcast screen capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] KBS anchor Lee So-jeong quoted a passage from a novel to criticize the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's extreme decision, sparking criticism from some quarters that her remarks undermined the neutrality of the public broadcaster.

On the other hand, there is a view that Park himself bore responsibility for the sexual harassment allegations to the extent that he took his own life. Some argue that the anchor's remarks pointed to this.

On the 16th, anchor Lee introduced a sentence from writer Jeong Se-rang's novel From the Gaze during KBS 'News 9' right after reporting on the sexual harassment accusation against former Mayor Park: "Some suicides were acts of harm. The most final form of harm."

Lee said, "It means that someone's death becomes an irreversible harm to those left behind," adding, "The fact that this sentence was shared countless times means that many people empathized with it."

She continued, "The weight of the truth has been borne by the victim, and secondary harm, which was feared to the extent that the term 'victim-centered approach' seems meaningless, is also rampant," pointing out, "A broadcaster's remark saying 'What were you doing for four years, and now you complain?' caused controversy, and a current prosecutor mocked, 'Is crossing your arms sexual harassment?'"

She added, "Keeping the victim's pain in mind and seeking the truth?this might be the minimum dignity our society must uphold."

The issue lies in the fact that KBS is a public broadcaster established under Chapter 4 of the Broadcasting Act of the Republic of Korea and is operated with public funds (license fees). There are criticisms that the broadcast effectively confirmed former Mayor Park as the perpetrator in the 'Park Won-soon sexual harassment allegations' case, which has not been clearly revealed by police investigations, thus constituting biased broadcasting.

On the Blue House National Petition Board, a petition titled "Petition for Sojeong Lee of KBS News 9 to Step Down" was posted. As of 1 PM on the 28th, a total of 14,337 people had agreed to the petition. Photo by Blue House National Petition Board

Shortly after the broadcast, a petition titled "Request for Lee So-jeong's removal from KBS News 9" was posted on the Blue House's public petition board. The petitioner stated, "KBS is a public broadcaster established under the Broadcasting Act of the Republic of Korea. Public broadcasting must be conducted solely for the public welfare."

They added, "Lee So-jeong of KBS News 9 seriously damaged the neutrality of the broadcast by leading viewers to confirmation bias through a phrase from a novel regarding an issue currently under police investigation," and "She broadcast the matter as if a conclusion had been reached, seriously damaging the deceased's honor before the judiciary's judgment."

Furthermore, "Despite the matter being under investigation, Lee So-jeong covered the complainant's position in the first segment, making viewers think all matters had been concluded," and "We petition for the removal of Lee So-jeong, the main anchor of KBS News 9, who seriously damaged the neutrality of the broadcast." As of 1 p.m. on the 28th, the petition had garnered 14,337 signatures.

However, some netizens defended the anchor, saying, "I support anchor Lee So-jeong. It is true that the perpetrator committed an act they could not take responsibility for and ended it with suicide," and "The perpetrator's death ultimately concealed the truth and hindered the investigation. This anchor spoke correctly," showing divided opinions.

Meanwhile, according to the police on the 27th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency recently summoned a former colleague of Park's former secretary as a witness to investigate whether they had prior knowledge of the secretary's sexual harassment allegations.

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