Jin Joong-kwon to MBC: "If You Report Kim Geon-hee's Recording, You Should Also Air Lee Jae-myung's Insult Tape"

Kim Gun-hee, CEO of Cobana Contents.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon argued that "the recording tape of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, should also be played" in relation to the report on the phone recording file of Kim Gun-hee, spouse of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party presidential candidate.

On the 14th, former professor Jin appeared on CBS Radio's 'One Match' and, when asked about this, stated, "(The circumstances under which Kim's call was recorded) violate journalistic ethics." He continued, "The public broadcaster MBC should not have accepted this, but they did," and pointed out, "In Kim's case, she had a private conversation with Mr. Lee from Seoul Voice, believing he would help her, but now they are trying to use it politically."

MBC plans to broadcast a total of 7 hours and 45 minutes of recorded phone calls between Kim and Mr. Lee from Seoul Voice last year through the current affairs program 'Exploratory Planning Straight' on the 16th. The day before, the Seoul Western District Court allowed the broadcast of parts excluding private conversations that MBC had already decided not to air and matters under investigation related to Kim.

He expressed concern toward MBC, saying, "They should report ethically, neutrally, and objectively, but they have almost become a political agent for one side, approaching it in a very low-quality manner," and explained, "If such behavior becomes normalized on both sides, what will happen to Korean political culture?"

Former professor Jin added, "If the entire nation has the right to know what kind of thoughts and character a person who will become president has, MBC should also play the recording tapes of candidate Lee and his spouse Kim Hye-kyung." He also said, "The candidate's character issue is a public matter, yet they do not report it. If they keep reporting on that, what will happen to the political scene? Regardless of the court's decision, this should be respected."

He pointed out, "The issue of a presidential candidate swearing at family members can also be judged from a public interest perspective, but the question is whether we should tolerate these things in Korean political culture," and added, "If both sides continue like this, we will no longer be able to freely have private conversations." He also criticized the People Power Party, saying, "We should let who is playing fair and who is cheating be determined on their own," and "I hope they stop unnecessarily visiting broadcasting stations."

Meanwhile, People Power Party lawmakers visited MBC the day before to protest, claiming that Kim's phone recording file was an illegal recording and that its disclosure was biased broadcasting. On the other hand, the MBC labor union rebutted, saying, "Even if the verification method for a presidential candidate is a recording file of the candidate's spouse's private conversation, if there are parts judged to belong to the public domain among the statements, the media that obtained it has an obligation to report it, and the public has the right to know."

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