Various Allegations Raised "Because of the Media"
Emphasizing 'Political Offensive' to Counter Negativity
Presenting Topics to Rally Supporters
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader of the People Power Party, and Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's candidate for party leader, have started a war against the media. Acting Leader Kwon criticized some media outlets, saying they are "controlled by labor unions," while Candidate Lee has repeatedly claimed that the controversies surrounding him are due to "distorted reporting." Both parties are facing criticism that they are blaming the media for the voices of criticism directed at them amid the post-election turmoil within their parties.
Acting Leader Kwon recently called for media reform, directly targeting some public broadcasters. At an emergency forum titled "Moon Jae-in Administration's Public Broadcasters Blacklist: What Is the Problem?" held on the 29th of last month by the People Power Party and the Fair Media National Solidarity at the National Assembly, Kwon said, "After I recently gave an interview criticizing unfair reporting by KBS and MBC, the media unions under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions launched a focused attack on me," adding, "In the process, I recalled the biased reporting cases our party has suffered over the past five years."
Earlier, on the 14th of last month on KBS Radio, he said, "Isn't KBS and MBC all controlled by media unions under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions?" and added, "Although the president has the authority to appoint the president of the broadcaster, would the union members, who mostly belong to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, listen to the president?" During a meeting, he publicly targeted some broadcasters by pointing out, "Why didn't the MBC camera come today? Are they refusing to cover?"
Candidate Lee has also recently claimed that the root cause of various controversies is "distorted reporting." During a YouTube live broadcast while traveling to Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on the 30th of last month, Lee said, "Due to the media environment, there are many low-education, low-income supporters of the People Power Party." On the same day in Gangneung, he targeted the media, saying, "The side that controls the media, though only some, maliciously distorts the facts, not delivering the good but delivering the bad, and reports things that do not exist as if they were true."
At a press briefing on the 3rd, when asked about the "need for media reform," he said, "Although it may be a very small part, I think there are quite a few one-sided aggressive reports not based on facts," and added, "The influence the media has on specific individuals is very large, and the damage that can occur is critical, so I ask for more caution."
The reason they emphasize "media reform" after the election is likely primarily to respond to the negative attacks surrounding them. Recently, Acting Leader Kwon has been embroiled in frequent controversies, such as the release of text messages with President Yoon Seok-youl and allegations of private recruitment. These controversies appear to have been triggered by media reports, raising questions about whether these reports are the result of political attacks.
Candidate Lee has also been the subject of suspicion reports continuously, from the presidential election and by-election to the party leader election. He is still struggling with allegations such as the Seongnam FC controversy that has continued since the presidential election and the misuse of a corporate card by his spouse, Kim Hye-kyung. He highlights that most of these reports are political attacks by the opposition or malicious reporting.
It is also quite possible that they targeted the media as a subject of reform to rally their support base. Since becoming acting party leader, Kwon has had to overcome various controversies he is involved in and manage the party, which is in turmoil due to internal conflicts. Candidate Lee, facing the party leader election, may also be aiming to present media reform as a key issue to propose reform tasks for the new leadership.
There are also voices of concern in the political sphere. On the 2nd, Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon said on a radio show about Candidate Lee's recent actions, "When the opponent or the media points out something, he immediately claims that the intent of his remarks is distorted," adding, "If the opponent or the media always distorts my remarks, I would have reflected on how I gave them the opportunity."
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