Culture Committee's 'MBC Boarding Ban' Controversy... Cheong Budget Cut by 5.9 Billion Won

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] At the full meeting of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee held on the 11th to review next year's budget bill, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the Presidential Office's refusal to allow MBC reporters to board the presidential aircraft during President Yoon Seok-yeol's Southeast Asia tour.

Lee Byung-hoon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "In the past, when former President Kim Dae-jung held the inter-Korean summit, the North pressured the government until the last moment to ban the entry of Chosun Ilbo and KBS, but President Kim said, 'There is no need to hold a summit by conceding even the selection of reporters,'" adding, "(The refusal to allow MBC to board the presidential aircraft) is the beginning of media suppression."

Jeon Jae-soo, also from the same party, pointed this out and argued that the budget for the tour press center should not be allocated by the National Assembly.

On the other hand, Lee Yong-ho of the People Power Party countered, "If we abolish the budget related to the tour press center to defend MBC, it will result in harm to all media outlets," adding, "During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, they even nailed shut the Blue House press room."

Baek Hyun-jin, also from the same party, pointed out, "Cutting the press center budget that other media outlets can use because of the MBC boarding issue is truly self-contradictory."

As the ruling and opposition parties failed to narrow their differences, they agreed through a liaison meeting to maintain the government's budget proposal but attach a supplementary opinion stating, "We order discussions on the appropriateness of the budget scale, including cuts to the related budget."

Meanwhile, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee cut 5.95 billion won from the budget related to the opening and utilization of the Blue House following the relocation of the Presidential Office.