MBC Reporters Impersonate Police During Investigation of Kim Geon-hee Allegations... Yoon Seok-yeol's Former Prosecutor General Team Files Police Complaint
Former Hankyoreh Reporter Kim Euigyeom Claims "Common in the Past"
People Power Party Says "An Insult to Frontline Reporters Working Hard on the Scene"
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Regarding the incident where an MBC reporter impersonated a police officer during the investigation of allegations against former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, Kim Eui-gyeom, a reporter from Hankyoreh and former Blue House spokesperson turned Open Democratic Party lawmaker, sparked controversy by saying, "Among people my age, there probably isn't anyone who hasn't done it once or twice." In response, opposition parties demanded an apology, calling the remark inappropriate.
Earlier, the MBC reporting team was found to have impersonated police officers while investigating the doctoral dissertation of Yoon's spouse, Kim Geon-hee, by calling the owner of a vehicle parked in front of Kim's former advisor's residence. Following this, Yoon's side filed a police complaint against two MBC reporters on the 10th.
Regarding this, on the 12th, Kim appeared on YTN Radio's "Hwang Bo-seon's Morning Start" and claimed, "Since reporters do not have investigative authority, it seems they impersonated police officers," adding that such incidents were common in the past.
Kim further stated, "Among people my age, there probably isn't anyone who hasn't done it once or twice," and added, "There were even many cases where the callers used the police station's security phone so that the recipients, seeing the caller ID, would believe the caller was a police officer."
On Yoon's side filing a complaint against the MBC reporters, Kim said, "Times have changed, so standards and criteria have shifted, and many things that were wrong back then are recognized as such now," but also added, "I think it was excessive for former Prosecutor General Yoon to file a complaint over this."
Regarding Kim's remarks, the People Power Party reacted strongly, calling them "inappropriate." Spokesperson Yang Jun-woo said in a statement, "The public is bewildered whether MBC and the ruling party, who have raised their voices over violations of journalistic ethics, are acting consistently," and criticized, "It is nothing short of a comedy to talk about media reform while applying double standards?good violations if it's our side, bad violations if it's yours."
Yang added, "Defending violations of journalistic ethics for political gain insults frontline reporters who work hard on the ground," urging, "They should apologize to frontline reporters, and judicial authorities must conduct a strict investigation to establish media ethics and prevent recurrence."
Lawmaker Heo Eun-ah also lamented, "It feels like a parallel universe of double standards exists," expressing disbelief that Kim, who was a reporter, the president's spokesperson at the Blue House, and is now an active lawmaker, made such remarks.
She continued, "Even if not righteous, one should at least pretend to be righteous, but it seems he has abandoned even the last shred of shame," adding, "It is regrettable that shame always falls on the people."
Kim Geun-sik, the People Power Party Songpa-byeong district committee chairman, questioned Kim Eui-gyeom's past conduct as a reporter. He said, "Is he confessing that impersonating public officials was common during his time as a reporter?" and pointedly asked, "Since he was a Hankyoreh reporter until entering the Blue House in 2017, when was the last time he impersonated a police officer?"
He warned, "Kim Eui-gyeom, who inadvertently confessed to impersonating a police officer while siding with MBC out of dislike for former Prosecutor General Yoon, should carefully calculate the statute of limitations. A complaint will definitely be filed."
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