[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Former director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Yoo Si-min criticized the media's reporting behavior, saying, "Former Minister Cho Kuk and Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim should be found guilty, and if not, it would be difficult for Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate."
On the 6th, Yoo had a conversation on the YouTube channel Open Sympathy TV under the theme "Media Amplifying Hatred, Media as the Target of Hatred," stating, "Recently, the media does not prioritize facts, and when there are conflicting interests, if fairness is maintained, it often sides with one party and even reports for its own benefit."
Yoo then cited the Cho Kuk incident and the case involving former Dongyang University President Choi Seong-hae, in which he was implicated. He pointed out, "Former Minister Cho and Professor Jeong have already been reported as guilty by many media outlets, so they should not be acquitted. If they are not found guilty, the media will be in trouble."
He added, "Candidate Yoon is also in trouble if things don't go well (because the media reported that the prosecution did well at the time)," and indirectly criticized, saying, "There have been so many reports so far, and if Professor Jeong is found partially not guilty, it would be a big problem."
Yoo said, "It was reported that I called President Choi to persuade him, but I told reporters that the call lasted 15 minutes, not 5," and said, "They say I persuaded him, but if that were true, I deny it, so shouldn't they have evidence?"
He continued, "I asked President Choi, 'What did the prosecution bring when they conducted the search and seizure?', 'Did they bring the original certificate of commendation?', and whether there was a dispatch ledger for the Dongyang University president's certificate of commendation. I also asked, 'Did you know that Professor Jeong was Cho Kuk's wife when hiring her?'" He claimed, "If there is a recording file, it would quickly prove that I did not say such things (to persuade), so the prosecution should have cleared me of charges earlier."
He said, "The prosecution held onto that for over two years and then cleared me of charges, but now there are sarcastic remarks saying, 'They cleared the charges because Candidate Yoon's approval rating dropped,'" adding, "The reports at that time were obvious. Since their stories differ, one of them is not telling the truth, but there was originally no way to verify it. Then shouldn't the media have checked if there was a recording file? Without checking that, seeing reports that I said strange things made me think, 'What is our media?'"
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