KBS News Including Dokdo in Japan's EEZ... Seok-Jeong Seo Says "Giving an Excuse"

Seokyeongdeok "Public Institutions Need to Wake Up" Rebuke

KBS is facing controversy for using a graphic map on its news screen that includes Japan's territorial claim over Dokdo.

Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University stated on his Facebook on the 15th, "Last night’s broadcast of KBS1 'News 9' used a graphic map showing South Korea's Dokdo included within Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), causing significant controversy." He added, "(KBS) used the graphic map while reporting that North Korea launched a ballistic missile for the first time this year, which clearly reflected Japan's position claiming the EEZ boundary between Ulleungdo and Dokdo."

He criticized, "Although the explanation 'Japan's claimed Exclusive Economic Zone' was used, it was clearly wrong to use a map that showed Dokdo plainly within Japan's waters according to Japan's unilateral claim. I don't understand why public institutions are acting like this these days."

Professor Seo emphasized, "Recently, the Ministry of National Defense published educational materials for soldiers describing Dokdo as a 'disputed area,' and it was also revealed that many maps of the Korean Peninsula did not show Dokdo at all, causing major controversy. Such incidents occurring continuously in public institutions only provide Japan with excuses. They really need to get their act together."

[Image source=KBS·Seokyeongdeok Sungshin Women's University Professor Facebook]

Earlier, the 'News 9' broadcast on the previous afternoon reported that North Korea launched a ballistic missile for the first time this year that morning. KBS aired a map for about 10 seconds showing Dokdo within Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone along with a reporter's comment, "Japan's Ministry of Defense stated that the missile's maximum altitude was over 50 km and it fell into the East Sea outside Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone." On the map, Ulleungdo was included in South Korea's EEZ, while Dokdo was included in Japan's EEZ. This reflected Japan's claim that the EEZ boundary lies between Dokdo and Ulleungdo. After the controversy arose, KBS replaced the footage with a different video.

The Exclusive Economic Zone refers to the sea area within 200 nautical miles from a country's coastline. Within this zone, the coastal state has exclusive economic rights over resources such as fisheries and minerals.