MBC Union's Apology Demand Met with Lee Jun-seok's Response: "A Choice for Freedom of the Press... I Apologize"

Lee Jun-seok "Democratic Party's strong will to push through Media Arbitration Act left no choice but to stay in the National Assembly"

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at an emergency briefing on current issues including the Press Arbitration Act held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 30th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, publicly apologized for his sudden decision to not participate in MBC's '100 Debate' broadcast.

On the afternoon of the 31st, Lee posted on his Facebook, stating, "I want to respond to the MBC labor union's demand for an apology," and explained, "Yesterday, as the opposition party leader, I had to choose between '100 Debate' and 'Unlimited Debate (Filibuster).' Naturally, I wanted to resolve the issue through the 100 Debate rather than the unlimited debate by our party members resisting the forced passage."

He continued, "From early yesterday afternoon, I publicly expressed my intention that I would not participate if the Democratic Party forcibly passed the (Media Arbitration Act)," adding, "It was not that I notified my absence only 40 minutes before, but I kept responding to the 100 Debate production team, who contacted me regularly, that 'due to the situation in the National Assembly today, attendance is difficult.' However, I monitored the situation closely until the end and prepared for the debate."

Regarding the invitation from the 100 Debate production team to both himself and Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee said, "The intention was probably to inform the public in detail about the positions of both parties before legislation and to help the public make a judgment," but added, "However, if the Democratic Party had proceeded with the passage as they had declared yesterday, the 100 Debate itself would inevitably have been ridiculed."

He further criticized, "It is inappropriate to forcibly pass the bill during the debate after agreeing to have the debate, and the Democratic Party should have clearly stated that there would be no forced passage during the debate."

Lee explained the circumstances of his absence from the broadcast, saying, "Before the provisional agreement on the (Media Arbitration Act) was reached, the hardliners within the Democratic Party were leading the atmosphere, and after the agreement was made, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won even used the expression GSGG towards Speaker Park Byeong-seok, who played a role in the agreement, showing a strong will for forced passage," adding, "In the midst of this, I could not leave the National Assembly site."

Finally, he said, "In nearly 10 years of broadcasting, this is the first time I have refused to attend a broadcast, causing inconvenience to many at the broadcasting company," and stated, "I condemn the ruling party and the Blue House for forcibly pushing through unreasonable legislation. I am very sorry for not fully keeping the promise to viewers and the broadcasting company. I hope you understand that this was a choice to protect the constitutional value of freedom of the press."

Meanwhile, the MBC labor union released a statement on the 31st, criticizing, "Lee notified the production team of his final decision not to appear on the live broadcast just 40 minutes before it started," and added, "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."

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