Science Committee's Jo Seung-rae: "A Representative 'Bangpok' Figure of the MB Administration"
Education Committee's Kang Deuk-gu Announces Press Conference on the 11th
The Democratic Party of Korea continued its offensive on the 9th regarding the school violence controversy involving the son of Lee Dong-gwan, the presidential office's special advisor for external cooperation, who is being considered as the next chairman of the Korea Communications Commission. They criticized the special advisor's rebuttal statement issued the previous day, which called for an end to the production of "fake news" about the school violence allegations, calling it a "typical perpetrator's logic" and demanding that he step down from his presidential advisory role.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the expanded executive meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
On the same day, Cho Seung-rae, the opposition party's floor leader on the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Communications Committee, issued a statement urging, "President Yoon Seok-yeol should listen to the public voice that Lee Dong-gwan is a wrong appointment aimed at media control."
Referring to a public opinion poll released by News Tomato that day, Rep. Cho said, "55% of the public responded that Lee Dong-gwan, who is a strong candidate for the next chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, is a wrong appointment with the intention of media control, while only 31% expected him to play a fair role as the chairman of the commission." He explained, "This means that the majority of the public perceives Lee Dong-gwan as essentially a media control expert and an icon of broadcasting oppression."
He added, "This is because Lee Dong-gwan has a track record as a representative figure of broadcasting oppression during the Lee Myung-bak (MB) administration," and "Recently, while making excuses regarding his son's school violence and the concealment allegations, he did not fail to threaten the broadcasters who reported on it."
Rep. Cho emphasized, "Although he has not even been nominated as the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, he has already threatened to wield a sword against reports that do not suit the regime's taste or criticize the regime," and "The chairman of the Korea Communications Commission is a position that oversees broadcasting and telecommunications policy, not a place to interfere with or take action on broadcast content or reporting."
Earlier that morning, Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, also criticized at an expanded executive meeting held at the National Assembly, saying, "The situation related to this special advisor is continuing to escalate into an incomprehensible phase. He is claiming that the reports about his son are fake news," and added, "It closely resembles the typical perpetrator's logic regarding the real-life school violence case similar to 'The Glory'." He urged, "The presidential office should stop testing public opinion and immediately dismiss Lee Dong-gwan."
The previous day, the special advisor issued a statement to the media, explaining the school violence controversy involving his son point by point.
He said, "Regardless of the facts, I deeply regret that a school violence controversy arose during my child's high school years," but added, "Recently, even the opposition party leader has indiscriminately continued 'hearsay'-style disclosures, which have been distorted and exaggerated, and are being reproduced and amplified through the media and social media (SNS), so I judged that I could no longer remain silent."
He continued, "Putting aside myself and my family, what worries me most is that this is causing mental and actual harm to the related students who are living sincerely as members of society," and asked for an end to irresponsible disclosures and the production of fake news for political strife.
However, the Democratic Party appears to be defining this incident as a "second Jeong Soon-shin" case and is expected to continue its offensive.
Kang Deuk-gu, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee, plans to hold a press conference at the National Assembly's communication office on the 11th to hold a "press conference rebutting Lee Dong-gwan's statement." Kang's office pointed out, "According to some testimonies, this school violence incident was even more severe than the case involving the son of former prosecutor Jeong Soon-shin," and "Although the special advisor issued a statement to correct the facts regarding the school violence controversy, debates continue over the victim students' testimonies and compliance with regulations." Through the press conference, Rep. Kang plans to refute the special advisor's statement and strongly demand the submission of materials from the relevant institutions.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
