South Korea’s ruling conservatives on Wednesday (Sept 29) said they would file complaints against a major TV station after it reported on President Yoon Suk-yeol’s purported use of profanity during a recent trip to the US.
The ruling People Power Party said it would ask prosecution authorities to launch a criminal investigation into MBC TV head Park Sung-je and three others, accusing them of defaming the president.
“They intentionally spread false information and defamed the president,” the party said.
Yoon, a former prosecutor-general, enjoys the strong support of the country’s prosecutors.
The controversy has also shone a spotlight on press freedom in South Korea after the party on Tuesday launched a task force to investigate the “falsified” reporting by MBC, following reports the station was defaming the president.
Millions of Koreans repeatedly watched video clips of Yoon using what seemed to be foul language while talking to his aides and top diplomats, following a brief chat with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings last week.
Although the audio of the hot mic incident was unclear, Yoon could be heard using an expletive to describe US Congressmen. He reportedly said their failure to pass a US$6 billion (S$9 billion) contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS and other diseases would be “too darn embarrassing for Biden”.
MBC and other media aired the clip, which swiftly went viral. Yoon’s presidential office belatedly denied he made any disparaging remarks aimed at Congress or Biden, saying Yoon was expressing concern South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly could reject his plans for a US$100 million contribution to the same fund.
Six major press unions held an emergency press conference next to the presidential office on Tuesday to throw their weight behind MBC, after Yoon rebuked the media on Monday for “jeopardising
Choi Jin, head of think tank the Institute of Presidential Leadership, said MBC had long been a source of complaints for the conservative ruling party due to what it viewed as “biased” reporting in favour of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea.
“The ruling camp finds it necessary to risk criticism over a possible breach of press freedom as this episode has become too big an issue, making headlines for several days and seriously damaging the president’s image,” he told This Week in Asia.
A recent survey commissioned by Straight News showed 70.8 per cent of respondents said Yoon should apologise for using foul words, while 27.9 per cent said he did not need to do so.
His approval rating fell to 27.7 per cent, down 3.7 per cent from three weeks earlier.
Former communications professor Lee E-jong of the Chonnam National University said the hot mic incident might have subsided with Yoon’s apology.
“It is highly regrettable that the whole society should spend energy on such a gaffe at a time when this country faces daunting geopolitical and economic challenges,” he said.
This article was first published in Asia One . All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
