"Yoon Administration More Proactive with Media Than Any Other Government"
"Wealthy Company Will Support Civil Aviation"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Hyun-ji] Bae Hyun-jin, a member of the People Power Party and former MBC announcer, commented on June 10 regarding the Presidential Office's decision not to allow MBC reporters to board President Yoon Seok-yeol's official plane for his overseas trip. She stated, "(The Yoon Seok-yeol administration) is a government more proactive with the media than any other, including doorstepping," and added, "It would be a stretch for MBC to claim this is media control."
On the same day, Bae wrote on her Facebook, "It is not that reporting itself was prohibited, but only that boarding the official plane was not provided, so I believe there will be no major difficulties in covering the overseas trip." She also said, "Since MBC is a wealthy company with many assets, I trust they will support their reporters to comfortably travel via commercial flights for the trip."
The Presidential Office notified MBC reporters on June 9, two days before President Yoon's Southeast Asia trip to attend the ASEAN and G20 summits, that they would not be allowed to board the presidential plane.
Regarding the Presidential Office's decision, Bae evaluated, "This is the government's thoughtful response to MBC, which has consistently ignored requests to correct numerous distortions and biased broadcasts and to prevent recurrence." She pointed out, "(Allowing reporters to board the official plane) is a minimum courtesy and respect based on agreements with each media outlet to facilitate coverage, not an automatic seat granted just because they carry a media title."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
