Reporter Association "Presidential Office Leading MBC Disciplinary Action... Stop the Sowing Discord"

"Presidential Office, Statement to Stop Provoking Conflict with Reporters"

On the morning of the 18th, President Yoon Seok-yeol answered questions from reporters on his way to work.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The Korea Journalists Association criticized the Presidential Office on the 21st for temporarily suspending the morning doorstepping press briefings, calling it "an attitude of shifting responsibility onto MBC."

In a statement released that day, the association said, "The installation of partitions directly contradicts the President's own statement that he would 'expose the public to the President working as is,'" and pointed out, "The suspension of the doorstepping briefings is completely opposite to the image of the 'first president who frequently answers the public's questions on the way to work' that was emphasized."

Regarding the Presidential Office citing the "recent unfortunate incident" as the reason for suspending the briefings, the association claimed it was an attempt to shift responsibility. They added, "Before suspending the doorstepping, the Presidential Office contacted the secretariat of the press corps to hear disciplinary opinions about MBC," and stated, "If an MBC reporter is at fault, it should be handled autonomously within the press corps."

The association expressed shock that "the Presidential Office took the lead in mentioning disciplinary actions against a specific reporter or media outlet," and said, "Such a response from the Presidential Office appears to be a persistent attack on critical media outlets that are seen as a thorn in the side, as well as an attempt to discipline the media by making an example of a particular media company."

The Journalists Association recalled, "We cannot forget the painful memory of the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2008, which mobilized power institutions such as the Board of Audit and Inspection, the National Tax Service, the prosecution, and the police to oust President Chung Yeon-ju of KBS, install a parachute president, and dismiss YTN and MBC reporters," adding, "It is astonishing that just six months after the regime changed, that memory is being replayed right before our eyes."

They further demanded, "The Presidential Office must immediately stop the cunning attempt to shift the suspension of doorstepping onto MBC's fault to sow discord and conflict among the press corps," and urged, "Cease immediately the unreasonable and shameless media suppression being inflicted on MBC and some other media outlets."

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