Press Corps, "No Regulatory Basis" for Presidential Office's Request on 'MBC Reporter Disciplinary Opinion'

Press Corps: Administrative Procedure Interpreted as Beyond the Scope of "Disciplinary Action"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The secretariat of the presidential office’s central press corps (the pool reporters) decided on the 21st not to express any opinion regarding the presidential office’s consideration of disciplinary action against a Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) reporter, stating that "there is no basis to discuss disciplinary measures."

The presidential office had been reviewing disciplinary measures against the MBC reporter who engaged in a verbal dispute with the Public Relations Planning Secretary following a doorstepping (brief Q&A upon arrival) on the 18th, and requested opinions from the pool reporters’ secretariat.

According to the pool reporters’ secretariat on the 21st, the presidential office requested the secretariat on the 19th to convene an operations committee meeting and submit opinions.

The presidential office conveyed to the pool reporters’ secretariat, "an unpleasant incident involving shouting occurred, and if such incidents continue, it was judged that it could affect the continuation of doorstepping." It added, "The presidential office is currently reviewing appropriate measures against the reporter from the relevant company to prevent recurrence."

The presidential office further stated, "However, to take appropriate measures, current regulations require hearing opinions from the pool reporters’ operations committee, so we request the convening of the operations committee and ask that opinions regarding the appropriate measures be gathered."

The measures proposed by the presidential office include three options for the MBC reporter in question: ▲cancellation of press accreditation (the media company cannot recommend a pool reporter for one year) ▲suspension of access to the presidential press room ▲request for replacement with another MBC-affiliated reporter.

After online discussions over the weekend, the secretariat concluded that the verbal dispute between the MBC reporter and the secretary does not meet the criteria for convening the operations committee.

The secretariat stated, "According to the regulations presented by the presidential office, the scope of disciplinary action for violations is specified as ‘sanctions related to embargo breaches,’ limiting it to embargo violations." It added, "Therefore, matters such as cancellation of press accreditation proposed by the presidential office are interpreted as administrative procedures beyond the scope of ‘disciplinary action.’"

It continued, "Whether the MBC reporter damaged their dignity is not within the secretariat’s judgment area," and explained, "Currently, the existing ‘Pool Reporter Operation Regulations’ (separate from presidential office regulations), which serve as the basis for disciplinary action by the secretariat, do not include provisions related to doorstepping (brief press conferences), and revision work is underway. In other words, there is no regulatory basis to discuss disciplinary action."

The secretariat particularly noted, "Since opinions within the press corps are deeply divided on the matter, it is difficult to organize a unified stance at the press corps level." It added, "Therefore, the secretariat decided not to express any opinion and conveyed on the morning of the 20th that it hopes this issue will not lead to restrictions on coverage by many media outlets unrelated to this matter as the confrontation between certain media and the presidential office continues."

From that day, the presidential office suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol’s doorstepping. In a media notice that morning, the presidential office stated, "Regarding the recent unpleasant incident, we judged that doorstepping cannot continue without fundamental measures to prevent recurrence. Doorstepping was established for open communication with the public," and added, "If measures that can properly uphold this purpose are prepared, we will consider resuming it."

A wooden partition was installed between the main entrance on the first floor of the Yongsan presidential office building and the area where reporters waited. The presidential office plans to install security glass in the future.

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