"I Jin-bok on 'Excluding MBC's Exclusive Plane': 'Let's Think Positively'... Presidential Office Faces Another Backlash"

Democratic Party's 'Media Taming' Criticism Met with Lee Jin-bok's "Don't Attack with Such a Frame"

On the 16th, one day before President Yoon Seok-yeol's 100th day in office, the Presidential Office building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul is shown. President Yoon, emphasizing the elimination of authoritarianism, moved the stage of state affairs from the former Blue House to Yongsan. With the president's office relocated to Yongsan, the Blue House has been fully opened to the public. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] On the 14th, Lee Jinbok, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Office, appeared before the National Assembly and responded to the exclusion of MBC reporters from the presidential plane by saying, "Let's think positively," which sparked backlash from the Democratic Party of Korea. Although Lee eventually apologized after continuous criticism from Democratic Party lawmakers who interpreted his remarks as threats or reprimands, the controversy continues.

On the same day, Lee attended the budget review session for non-economic ministries at the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. In response to Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Youngmin's accusation of "media taming," Lee said, "Please don't keep attacking with that frame. Let's think positively together. Wouldn't it be better to think in a positive way together?" In response, Ko raised his voice, saying, "Are you reprimanding a lawmaker who represents the people to think positively? Do you think this is a joke here? What kind of attitude is this?"

Although Lee replied, "We will be careful as well," opposition lawmakers continued to criticize him. Park Jung, the Democratic Party's floor leader, pointed out, "His attitude of crossing his arms while answering was really unpleasant to see," adding, "'Let's do it' might be a regional dialect or something, but it clearly came from a dismissive attitude." Lawmaker Han Byungdo also criticized, "Is the Senior Secretary representing the Presidential Office threatening because he feels offended or upset by a lawmaker's question? What do you mean 'let's do it'? Are you speaking informally?"

Lee apologized, saying, "Because my words were brief, if they sounded harsh, I deeply regret that. I will be more careful," and added, "I feel regretful and sorry."

Lawmakers from the People Power Party also supported Lee. Lee Cheolgyu, the party's floor leader, said, "I don't think the opposition lawmakers' objections were wrong," but defended Lee by saying, "It might have sounded uncomfortable to some listeners, but it was neither vulgar language nor abusive remarks."

Jang Donghyuk from the same party said, "In the previous administration, cabinet members who appeared before the National Assembly showed behavior that did not meet the public's expectations, but I don't recall any apologies. Regarding today's incident, the expression of regret and apology shows that the National Assembly is making progress."

On the day, Lee explained that the reason for denying MBC reporters boarding the presidential plane was due to reports on the controversy over vulgar language during President Yoon's U.S. visit in September. Lee said, "I believe MBC should bear appropriate responsibility for producing fake news," adding, "The media environment has changed. I think we gave them enough time to explain." He further stated, "I think MBC has gone a bit too far," and clarified, "We do not have any personal feelings against MBC. I don't think such incidents will happen with other media outlets."

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