Other Media Also Reported on 'Biden'... Why Is Only MBC Targeting the Ruling Party?

The Democratic Party Visits MBC to Protest 'Yoon's Remarks' Coverage
Labels It as a 'Second Mad Cow Disease Incident' and Launches Full-Scale Offensive
Journalists Association Objects, Saying "Each Broadcaster Reports Based on Its Own Judgment"

A scene of President Yoon Suk-yeol making a controversial private remark during his visit to New York, USA. The photo shows the part where MBC, which first reported the content, added the subtitle "What if these XX in the National Assembly don't approve it and Biden feels embarrassed?" / Photo by MBC YouTube capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] The People Power Party is launching an all-out offensive against MBC, which first reported the 'private remarks controversy' that arose during President Yoon Seok-yeol's overseas trip. They have formed a task force (TF) to investigate the truth behind the report and are applying comprehensive pressure, including protest visits. Analysts suggest that the People Power Party's decision to go on the offensive stems from a sense of crisis that failing to overcome this controversy could result in an irreparable loss of momentum in state affairs. However, the media industry is pushing back, saying, "MBC is not the only outlet to report such content," and condemning it as repression against a specific media outlet.

On the 27th, the People Power Party formed the "MBC Biased and Manipulated Broadcast Truth Investigation TF" and took a direct stance against the controversy. At a party meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Floor Leader Joo Ho-young targeted MBC, stating, "It appears that even the basic principle of verifying facts in reporting was not observed," and criticized, "Broadcasting so-called 'jirasi' circulating around as subtitles without verification is an abandonment of the responsibility of a public broadcaster."

The People Power Party visited MBC in protest on the 28th, demanding a truth investigation and official explanation regarding the initial reporting process. The party also raised suspicions of collusion with the Democratic Party of Korea over the leak of President Yoon's remarks on social networking services (SNS) before MBC's first report. It is also known that the Presidential Office recently sent an official letter to MBC inquiring about the reporting process.

On the 28th, members of the People Power Party are visiting in protest in front of the MBC headquarters in Mapo-gu, Seoul, regarding the controversy over remarks made during President Yoon Seok-yeol's overseas trip. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

However, MBC is not the only media outlet that reported the controversial part of President Yoon's remarks, specifically the 'Biden' subtitle. After MBC first reported on the morning of the 22nd around 10 a.m. on its YouTube channel with the subtitle, "What if these XX in the National Assembly don't approve it? Won't Biden be embarrassed?" many other media outlets, including major broadcasters like KBS and SBS, reported similar content. SBS anchor Joo Young-jin pointed out on the 26th during 'Joo Young-jin News Briefing,' "If you look at the main news of the three terrestrial broadcasters on September 22, all had the subtitle 'Biden,' so I wonder why the People Power Party is only criticizing and fiercely attacking MBC."

The People Power Party views MBC, which made the first report, as leading this controversy. They argue that MBC was the first to add the subtitle and report it, influencing other media outlets to follow suit. Floor Leader Joo Ho-young said about MBC's report, "Even experts are debating what was said, so putting such a subtitle on it was very intentional," and added, "Other media were influenced by it, and failing to adhere to the basic principles of cautious reporting is problematic." In an interview on the 26th, Representative Kim Jeong-jae responded to anchor Joo Young-jin's remark, "Why is there a fierce attack only on MBC? We also verified and reported accordingly," by saying it was because "MBC added the subtitle and made the first report."

Some mention the long-standing bad relationship between conservative governments and MBC in connection with this controversy. In 2008, the Lee Myung-bak administration suffered a significant blow to its governance when the 'mad cow disease incident,' triggered by MBC's reporting, escalated into candlelight protests, causing approval ratings to drop to the 20% range early in the term. Analysts believe that the Presidential Office and the ruling party decided to take a tough stance rather than a defensive one to overcome this controversy. Within the ruling party, there is a sense of crisis that this controversy could lead to a repeat of the past. Former Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong claimed, "If MBC manipulates, the Democratic Party incites. It's the same method as the mad cow disease incident." Representative Kim Ki-hyun also said, "We clearly remember how ugly the fake mad cow disease wave caused by the politicization of broadcasting was."

The media industry is strongly opposing this. Six active media organizations, including the Korea Journalists Association, held a joint press conference near the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 27th, stating, "The president should not shift responsibility onto the media," and explained, "The Presidential Office, after reviewing the video, recognized the seriousness of the issue and requested non-broadcasting, but the video journalists rejected this proposal, and the broadcasters involved in joint coverage reported based on their own judgment."

They added, "The People Power Party is making unreasonable attacks, claiming that a specific broadcaster colluded with a particular party to leak the video in advance and broadcast provocative subtitles, but they have not presented any evidence. While making no issues with other terrestrial broadcasters and comprehensive programming channels that aired the same subtitles, they repeatedly attack only one broadcaster," and raised their voices, saying, "What harms the national interest is not the media reporting this, but the president's coarse language that bounces out like a rugby ball regardless of time and place."