Cho Kuk Criticizes Chosun Ilbo's English Headline on Moon: "I Will Not Translate It"

[Asia Economy, reporter Kwon Seoyoung] Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk raised an issue with the headline of an editorial in the English edition of the Chosun Ilbo, which recently sparked controversy.

On June 24, Cho Kuk shared a photo of the English article titled 'Why Does Moon Keep Sucking up to N.Korea?' on his Facebook page, adding, "This is the headline of an editorial in the English edition of the Chosun Ilbo. I will not translate or quote it."

The article Cho shared contains the same content as the editorial published in the Korean edition of the Chosun Ilbo on June 23, titled 'Even after doing everything Kim Yo-jong demands, all that comes back is ridicule and contempt.' However, the phrase 'Sucking up' used in the English headline caused controversy. While the expression is an idiom meaning 'to flatter' or 'to fawn over,' it also carries sexual connotations and is rarely used in news articles except within direct quotations.

In response, the Blue House stated that it had strongly protested to the Chosun Ilbo regarding the inappropriate use of the editorial's headline and illustration. A Blue House official explained, "Park Soo-hyun, Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication, conveyed strong regret and protest to the Chosun Ilbo over the inappropriate English editorial headline and illustration," adding, "Isn't it problematic to use such inappropriate expressions in editorial headlines that foreigners may read?"

The Blue House also stated, "The Chosun Ilbo has promised to revise the editorial headline and prevent a recurrence." The headline of the editorial has since been changed to 'Why is Moon Still Wooing N.Korea?'

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