Yoon Young-chan on Criticism of 'News Control': "I Have the Freedom to Express My Opinion... Very Regrettable"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Yoon Young-chan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, rebutted the controversy over 'portal site external pressure,' saying, "I am very regretful. I believe I have the freedom to fully express my opinion."

On the afternoon of the 8th, at the full meeting of the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee held at the National Assembly, Rep. Yoon said, "I will talk about what happened yesterday and today," and added, "I am very regretful that (People Power Party) members have politicized this issue, and I believe I have the freedom to fully express my opinion about what I feel on this matter."

He explained, "Yesterday, while watching Rep. Lee Nak-yeon's speech, I monitored the Kakao main page, but it did not appear on the main page. However, when Floor Leader Joo Ho-young gave his speech today, the full text of the speech was posted on the main page immediately," and added, "Regarding the same issue, which was already scheduled as the ruling and opposition leaders' speeches, I thought we needed to find out why there was such a difference. So I asked to look into it."

He continued, "I thought it was a very important news item, so I wondered why it didn't appear, but I did not lodge any complaints with Kakao because I believed in editorial freedom," emphasizing, "I believe I have the freedom to fully express my opinion about what I feel." He also added, "As a former vice president of Naver in charge of government relations, I have talked with many lawmakers, and some of the lawmakers here have called me to the National Assembly to listen to my stories. This matter was just about trying to find out the parts I could not accept based on my monitoring results."

The portal external pressure controversy was triggered when it was revealed that Rep. Yoon sent Telegram messages to his aides in the National Assembly plenary session that afternoon, saying, "Please strongly complain to Kakao about this," and "Kakao is too much. Tell them to come in." This was in response to an aide sending Rep. Yoon a screenshot of the portal site showing Floor Leader Joo Ho-young's article posted on the main page, saying, "Joo Ho-young's speech is reflected immediately on the main page."

Opposition party lawmakers are protesting, calling it 'news control.' Bae Hyun-jin, the floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, criticized in a statement, "This is shocking and very regrettable. News control, it was real," and added, "Have you been trying to control public opinion through portals all along? Did the Blue House do the same? The Democratic Party must explain immediately."

Members of the People Power Party on the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee boycotted the full meeting and issued a condemnation statement. In the statement, they said, "There have been widespread rumors that the current Blue House and ruling party have manipulated portals, and this incident has revealed the issue," and claimed, "The government and ruling party must take thorough investigations, prevent recurrence, take disciplinary action against Rep. Yoon, and bear strict legal responsibility."

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