Lee Jae-myung, Vows to "Go All the Way" Against Maliciously Biased Reporting... Channel A Demands Rebuttal and Files Lawsuit

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, promised the residents of Gyeonggi Province that he would hold Channel A strictly accountable for malicious political distortion reports that damaged the provincial administration through demands for 'rebuttal reports' and lawsuits filed with the Korea Press Arbitration Commission and the Korea Communications Commission, claiming that Channel A made malicious reports.

On the 8th, Governor Lee criticized on Facebook, "Channel A reported on the 7th with the title 'Clear the parking lot when the governor comes'... Residents who opposed' regarding the Hanam subway opening ceremony, using a provocative headline without fact-checking or properly confirming with the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, the subject of the report."

He added, "Channel A's reporting behavior, which damaged the trust in the Gyeonggi provincial administration, is an act that clouds the judgment of the sovereign people, and its political intent cannot be doubted," and stated, "I will take all legal measures."

This incident began on the evening of the 5th when a complaint was received on Governor Lee Jae-myung's Instagram account asking why his officetel parking lot had to be cleared for the subway opening ceremony scheduled for the 7th in Hanam. On the 6th, Governor Lee investigated the situation through Gyeonggi Province and requested the Hanam City, the event organizer, to take action. At 8:10 PM on the same day, a response was sent to the complainant apologizing for the inconvenience and informing that alternative parking had been arranged. Before the event started on the 7th, Gyeonggi Province acknowledged the residents' complaints and completed corrective measures.

However, Governor Lee criticized, "(Channel A) could have sufficiently grasped the facts about the complaint handling process and results and probably did so, yet reported maliciously and biasedly with distortion."

Therefore, Governor Lee said, "We demand a rebuttal report from Channel A and will hold them strictly accountable for malicious political distortion reports that damaged the provincial administration through lawsuits filed with the Korea Press Arbitration Commission and the Korea Communications Commission," emphasizing, "Revealing distorted facts and correcting errors is the philosophy of the 7th Gyeonggi Province administration aiming for a 'fair society.'"

He also said, "We will heed the will of each sovereign resident and pay more careful attention to small matters for a fair society and listen more closely to the voices of residents," and added, "Finally, I thank the residents who reported this once again and ask all residents for more opinions, more reports, and more criticism and advice."

Governor Lee further stated, "In a country where the people are the owners, forcing the inconvenience of the owner to public officials, who are public servants and servants of the people, is a challenge and outrage against popular sovereignty."

Moreover, he raised suspicion, saying, "The statement by a Hanam city official that they rented a private building parking lot for the event (Hanam subway opening on the 7th) and mentioned 'the governor's attendance' is incomprehensible from a common-sense perspective," and added, "Even if rented, it is not a parking lot for the governor to use, so it is difficult to understand why such a statement was made, and there is a considerable possibility that it was manipulated and distorted for political purposes."

He also said, "Special treatment and abuse of power in the public service that force residents' inconvenience for protocol must be strongly responded to in order to prevent recurrence of similar cases," and reported, "I have ordered a thorough investigation into the whole story, strict disciplinary action and preventive measures if the facts are confirmed, and instructed the 31 cities and counties including Gyeonggi Province and affiliated public institutions to disseminate the case to prevent similar incidents."

Earlier, Channel A reported on the 7th that Governor Lee Jae-myung caused residents to oppose by making them clear the parking lot of a nearby building to attend the Hanam subway opening ceremony that day.