Lee Jun-seok Notified Absence 40 Minutes Before Broadcast... "Could Not Leave National Assembly Due to Possible Forced Passage of Media Arbitration Act"

"Media Arbitration Act, If Handled Yesterday, Debate Would Have Been Ridiculed"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 30th, checking his laptop during the meeting. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] About 40 minutes before the broadcast started, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, who refused to appear on MBC's '100-Minute Debate,' asked for understanding, saying it was "a choice to protect the constitutional value of freedom of the press" in response to MBC union's demand for an apology.

In a post on Facebook on the 31st, Lee said that it was difficult to leave the National Assembly amid the ruling party's strong will to pass the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act the day before (the 30th). The ruling and opposition parties finally agreed to postpone the plenary session on the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act to the 27th of next month.

Earlier, the MBC union (MBC branch of the National Union of Mediaworkers) issued a statement demanding an apology from Lee, saying, "Lee gave the production team a final notice that he would not appear on the debate just 40 minutes before the live broadcast. He even responded that they could just air 'The Animal Kingdom' to fill the broadcast gap. This blatantly shows how little the leader of a major political party values the promise made to millions of viewers."

On that day, Lee and Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, were scheduled to appear on the live broadcast of '100-Minute Debate' to discuss the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act. However, with Lee refusing to appear, the broadcast was canceled and replaced with an entertainment program.

Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeong-seok (center), Yoon Ho-jung, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (right), and Kim Ki-hyun, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, are showing the agreement on forming a consultative body for the amendment of the Press Arbitration Act and the submission to the plenary session on September 27 at the Speaker's Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 31st. / Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding this, Lee explained, "From early yesterday afternoon, I publicly expressed my intention not to participate if the Democratic Party pushed for a forced passage," adding, "It was not a 40-minute prior notice of non-participation. I continuously informed the '100-Minute Debate' production team, with whom I was in regular contact, that 'due to the situation in the National Assembly today, attendance would be difficult,' but I kept monitoring the situation closely and prepared for the debate until the end."

He pointed out, "Originally, the '100-Minute Debate' production team invited Song Young-gil and me with the intention of informing the public in detail about the positions of both parties before legislation and helping the public make a judgment. However, if the Democratic Party had proceeded with the passage as they declared yesterday, the debate itself would have inevitably been trivialized."

He criticized the Democratic Party, saying, "It is inappropriate to push for the passage after calling for a debate, and they should have clearly stated that there would be no forced passage during the debate."

Lee added, "After four rounds of repeated negotiations starting from 5 p.m. that day, a provisional agreement with the Democratic Party was reached around 10:30 p.m. It was confirmed that the bill would not be submitted on the day, which was past the broadcast start time of 10:30 p.m."

He also said, "Until the provisional agreement was reached, the atmosphere within the Democratic Party was led by hardliners, and after the agreement, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won even used the expression 'GSGG' toward Speaker Park Byeong-seok, showing a strong will for forced passage. In the midst of this, I could not leave the National Assembly site."

'GSGG' is an expression used by lawmaker Kim Seung-won on Facebook toward Speaker Park in the early morning of the 31st, right after the failure to submit the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act to the plenary session. It sparked controversy as it was criticized for resembling profanity.

Lee also said, "In nearly 10 years of broadcasting, this is the first time I have refused to appear on a broadcast, causing inconvenience to many at the broadcasting station," adding, "I condemn the ruling party and the Blue House for pushing through unreasonable legislation. I also deeply apologize for not fully keeping the promise made to viewers and broadcasters to prevent this. I hope you understand that this was a choice to protect the constitutional value of freedom of the press."

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