President Yoon Suk-yeol walks away from reporters after answering questions on his way to the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Opposition criticizes 'media suppression' decision while ruling camp says politicians have right to reject coverage by media that 'maliciously distorts'

By Nam Hyun-woo

The presidential office on Thursday banned MBC reporters from boarding the presidential jet during Yoon's visit to Southeast Asia. This decision came approximately two months after the broadcaster ― together with other domestic and international media ― reported that Yoon had been caught on camera using a profanity when speaking about U.S. President Biden and the U.S. Congress during his trip to New York, subtitling his remark.

The broadcaster fired back at the presidential office, saying that the decision is a violation of freedom of the press, enshrined in Korea's Constitution. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and some news associations sided with MBC, criticizing the presidential office for attempting to control the media.

The presidential office didn't back down, saying, "There is important national interest at stake in overseas trips," implying that MBC's reporting of Yoon's hot mic gaffe was against the national interest. It claimed that the media outlet deserves the ban, despite many other media outlets having also reported that Yoon got caught using an expletive on camera.

In response, the DPK said, "It is not the media that harms the national interest, but President Yoon Suk-yeol."

According to MBC and the presidential office, MBC's presidential office correspondents received a text message from the office around 9 p.m., Wednesday, in which the office curiously stated that MBC's reporters would not be allowed to board the presidential jet during Yoon's trip to Cambodia and Indonesia.

"The presidential office decided not to allow MBC reporters to board the presidential jet," the message reads. "We have been allowing journalists to board the presidential jet for their convenience in covering diplomatic and security issues, and we have decided to stop providing this favor, because MBC has repeated its twisted and biased coverage of diplomatic issues."

The message continued that MBC has not aired corrections to its "manipulative" subtitles, attempts to fabricate what happened during the president's overseas visit, is a distortion of facts and thus the ban is "inevitable" for the presidential office in order to prevent skewed and biased broadcasting.

The presidential office was referring to MBC's report that Yoon used foul language during his exit from a fundraising event in New York on Sept. 21, by using a subtitle that reads "Biden will surely lose face if those bastards in the congress/assembly do not pass it."

The presidential office had issued a statement that it wasn't clear whether Yoon used the word, which could be heard as "bastards," and that he had used it to refer to South Korea's National Assembly rather than the U.S. Congress. The presidential office also claimed that Yoon had not said "Biden," but a similar-sounding Korean word, "nallimyeon," citing unidentified sound engineers.

When asked about the ban during an impromptu interview with reporters on Thursday morning, Yoon said, "Taxpayer money is used to finance the president's overseas trip because of important national interests," and, "We've been providing this favor to the media to help them cover foreign policy and security issues conveniently, and I'd like you to understand the decision as part of such efforts."

MBC said in a statement that the measure is "clearly limiting the journalistic activities of the press" and "MBC reporters will definitely cover Yoon's trip even if we have to use alternative transportation."

Yoon will fly to Cambodia on Friday to attend a South Korea-ASEAN summit, an ASEAN Plus Three summit and the East Asia Summit during his three-day stay in Phnom Penh. On Sunday evening, he will depart for Bali, Indonesia, to attend the G-20 summit.

In this July 1 file photo, President Yoon Suk-yeol holds a press conference on the presidential jet returning to Seoul after attending the 2022 North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit in Madrid, Spain. Yonhap

The presidential office said that it is not blocking MBC from reporting Yoon's trip, but simply banning the broadcaster from boarding the jet, which it says had "been offered for the convenience of reporters covering diplomatic and security issues."

Meanwhile, MBC and seven media organizations issued an urgent joint statement saying that the ban amounts to "anti-constitutional suppression of the media" because the schedules of civilian flights are unable to keep up with Yoon's tight schedule.

"The presidential office claims that it is criticizing authority by banning a certain news outlet from boarding the presidential jet and limiting its coverage, but in fact, it is an act of suppression of and violence against the media, which has no precedent in Korea's Constitution," the Journalists Association of Korea, the National Union of Media Workers, the Broadcast Journalists Association and four other national media associations said in a joint statement, Thursday.

"The presidential jet is operated with taxpayers' money but each news company bears the costs of coverage on its own," the statement reads. "The presidential office's anachronistic misunderstanding that the presidential plane is like Yoon's private property and that it is doing the press a favor to allow it to board, is frankly appalling."

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) also slammed the office's decision.

DPK senior spokesperson An Ho-young said, "It is the mission of the press to monitor power, and it is the role of the president to recognize and protect the freedom of the press."

The ruling People Power Party (PPP), however, defended the presidential office's decision.

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo claimed that just like the media enjoys freedom of the speech, politicians and those who are covered by the media outlets also have the right to reject coverage from media that "maliciously distorts" them.

PPP Rep. Bae Hyun-jin, who was a former announcer for MBC, also wrote on Facebook that "MBC is a rich company," and, "Since it is not a ban on coverage, there will be no difficulties for the broadcaster."

Meanwhile, the press corps of the presidential office said in a joint statement that it expresses "strong regret on causing the entire press corps disturbance by banning a news media outlet from boarding the presidential jet" and does not agree with "the office's approach as if it is providing 'favors for the press.'"

"It is concerning that stripping a media outlet of its opportunity to report can also be applied to other companies and we demand an immediate withdrawal of this decision," the statement read.