"Code Name Leak Controversy" Tak Hyun-min: "Baseless Criticism... Also Disclosed During Previous Government"

Tak Hyun-min, Protocol Secretary at the Blue House, revealed on his Facebook on the 18th the code names for President Moon Jae-in's tour of three European countries and a photo of a meeting held inside Air Force One. / Photo by Facebook

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Tak Hyunmin, the Blue House Protocol Secretary, responded on the 20th to the controversy over his disclosure of diplomatic information such as the code name for the European tour on his personal social networking service (SNS) account, calling it "baseless nitpicking" and stating, "There is no longer a need to keep it secret."

On the same day, Secretary Tak wrote on Facebook, "Instead of unfounded claims or nonexistent diplomatic disasters or neglect, I ask for more interest and affection for the president's tour achievements," expressing this view.

Earlier, on the 18th, Secretary Tak shared behind-the-scenes stories after the European tour, revealing the code name of the tour (Concert) and photos of a meeting held inside Air Force One, which drew criticism for being inappropriate in terms of security.

Regarding this, Secretary Tak pointed out, "There seems to be a lot of interest in the disclosure of the president's European tour code name. It was intended to convey a little more content in summarizing the 6-night, 8-day tour events. Usually, there is no need to explain, but there are always people who want to nitpick and create controversy."

He continued, "As already explained, the code name is a device to conceal the content. For security reasons, to hide the president's schedule until the event, a title that no one can associate with is given. Even if it is known in advance, it makes people wonder 'What is that?' Sometimes, it is publicly used instead of '00 visit'."

He added, "Of course, once the event is over or the tour schedule is publicly disclosed through the media, it can no longer be a secret. All schedules have been made public to the media, so there is no longer a need to keep it secret."

He said, "In past administrations, code names were often disclosed after the event ended. In 2013, during the Park Geunhye administration, the first tour code name was reported by the media before the tour, saying it sounded like a movie title. Also, unlike nowadays, in the past, the event content and tour location were rather suggestive."

He added, "Under our government, it is quite different in that the event name and venue are not suggestive. I ask for interest in the president's tour achievements rather than nonexistent diplomatic disasters."

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