Court Orders MBC to Issue Correction on 'Biden, Nalimyeon' Case... Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wins Lawsuit

The court has ruled that MBC must issue a correction regarding its report on the 'profanity controversy' that arose during President Yoon Seok-yeol's visit to the United States in 2022.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The 12th Civil Division of the Seoul Western District Court (Chief Judge Seong Ji-ho) ruled in favor of the plaintiff, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the correction request lawsuit filed against MBC on the 12th.

The court stated, "At the beginning of the News Desk program, the presenter shall read the attached correction statement once at a normal speaking pace, and during the reading, the title and body of the correction statement shall be displayed in the usual program subtitle font and size."

Furthermore, the court ordered that if these requirements are not fulfilled, MBC must pay 1 million KRW per day until compliance is achieved.

Until now, the court had required MBC to clearly prove whether the controversial remark was 'Biden' or 'nallimyeon' (날리면). In response, MBC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accepted the court's request to have an external expert conduct a voice analysis.

However, at the trial held on the 22nd of last month, an external party submitted an opinion stating that the analysis of the relevant part was not possible, and the trial concluded without determining the truth.

Previously, MBC reported that President Yoon said, after attending the 7th Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund held in New York, USA, on September 21, 2022 (local time), "If those XX in the National Assembly don't approve it, what will Biden do, feeling embarrassed?" and added subtitles on the screen.

In response, the Presidential Office denied that it was 'Biden' and claimed it was 'nallimyeon,' rebutting MBC's report. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated mediation procedures with the Korea Press Arbitration Commission against MBC. MBC refused to issue a correction, stating it was not false reporting, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs filed a correction request lawsuit in December 2022.

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