Presidential Office on MBC Exclusive Plane Boarding Ban: "Restriction on Reporting Convenience"... Press Corps Expresses "Strong Regret"

Presidential Office: "No Facilitation of Coverage Due to Repeated Distorted and Biased Reporting"
Press Corps: "Media Outlets Bear Full Related Costs... Issue of Public's Right to Know, Not Coverage Convenience"

The Air Force One, the presidential aircraft taking off from Seoul Airport [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 9th, the Presidential Office emphasized regarding the ban on MBC boarding the presidential aircraft, stating, "This measure to restrict minimal press convenience was taken based on the judgment that no further damage to national interests should occur in a situation with no room for improvement."

A Presidential Office official, when meeting reporters at the Yongsan Presidential Office that afternoon, responded to the ban on MBC boarding the presidential aircraft by referring to the controversial reports on President Yoon's remarks during his September visits to the UK, the US, and Canada, saying, "(MBC) had two months for verification and improvement but took no action."

President Yoon will visit Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Bali, Indonesia, sequentially from the 11th to the 16th to attend multilateral meetings such as the ASEAN-related summit and the G20 summit.

However, the Presidential Office notified MBC reporters covering the Presidential Office the night before, two days prior to the trip, that "boarding the presidential aircraft has been provided as a convenience for coverage related to diplomatic and security issues, but considering MBC's repeated distorted and biased reports on diplomatic matters recently, we have decided not to provide such convenience."

The official added, "We raised issues about fake news and false reports by MBC related to the UN General Assembly trip. We needed to verify the facts and sent an inquiry to MBC," adding, "If it is confirmed that the reports are not true, at least a public broadcaster has the obligation to inform the public through an internal investigation into the reporting process."

He continued, "As President Yoon said this morning, operating the presidential aircraft at great public expense is for important national interest diplomatic trips," emphasizing this point. President Yoon said during a door-stepping (brief Q&A on the way to work) at the Yongsan Presidential Office that morning, "The president travels abroad using a lot of taxpayers' money because important national interests are at stake."

In response, MBC stated in a press release, "We view the Presidential Office's refusal to allow boarding the presidential aircraft as a serious restriction on press freedom and express regret," and rebutted, "The refusal of a specific media outlet to board the presidential aircraft is an unprecedented act not even seen during the military dictatorship era."

Media organizations including the Korea Journalists Association, Broadcast Journalists Union, National Union of Mediaworkers, Korea Video Journalists Association, Korea Women Journalists Association, Korea PD Association, and Korea Broadcasting Technicians Union issued an urgent joint statement on the 10th, urging, "President Yoon Seok-yeol must immediately stop unconstitutional media suppression," followed by protests from the Presidential Office press corps.

Regarding this, a Presidential Office official said, "This measure was not taken because of criticism of the Presidential Office. The Presidential Office is fully prepared to accept media criticism," and rebutted, "The problem is fake news. When fake news spreads, the media trying to report the truth are attacked and threatened. That is why many democratic countries strongly respond to and try to eliminate fake news."

However, the central pool of 49 media companies covering the Presidential Office issued a statement that day, expressing "strong regret that the Presidential Office caused great confusion among the entire press corps by unilaterally excluding a specific media outlet from boarding the presidential aircraft without any prior consultation at a time close to the president's trip (on the 11th)."

The press corps pointed out, "The reason the press corps boards the presidential aircraft is for coverage in the public's right to know," and added, "Each media company bears all related costs. Nevertheless, we cannot agree with the Presidential Office approaching this as a 'provision of press convenience,' as if granting a special favor."

The implication is that while the president and his aides travel on a trip funded by taxpayers, the press corps bears all costs including boarding the presidential aircraft, transportation, and accommodation, so it cannot be seen as a privilege using public funds.

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