Senior Civil Society Official "Be Especially Careful with Words and Actions"
Opposition "Distorted View of the Media, Must Be Dismissed"
Hwang Sang-mu, Senior Secretary for Civil Society at the Presidential Office, apologized on the 16th for mentioning incidents in which the military allegedly instigated attacks against journalists who wrote critical articles about the government in the 1980s during a meeting with some media personnel including MBC reporters.
On the same day, Hwang issued a personal statement titled "I Apologize" to the media, saying, "I apologize for causing concern to the public with my words and actions."
Hwang said, "I failed to consider the perspective of the listeners," and added, "I apologize to all journalists."
He also expressed "deep apologies and condolences to the victims' families of incidents that I did not want to recall," and stated, "Going forward, I will be especially careful with my words and actions as a public official and act more responsibly."
Earlier, on the 14th, MBC reported that during a dinner with some reporters, Hwang made inappropriate remarks after saying, "MBC, listen carefully." At this gathering, Hwang mentioned, "I came from the Defense Security Command, and in 1988, an economic newspaper reporter was stabbed twice with a knife at the Hyundai Apartment in Apgujeong."
The incident Hwang referred to was the so-called "Defense Security Command sashimi knife terror incident" in August 1988, where Oh Hong-geun, then head of the social affairs department at an economic newspaper, was attacked by assailants with a sashimi knife in front of his home, suffering deep cuts of 4cm in depth and over 30cm in length on his thigh. Investigations revealed that the assailants were active-duty soldiers belonging to the military's Defense Security Command, acting under orders from superiors displeased with Oh's critical columns about the military.
According to MBC's report, when asked why he told MBC to "listen carefully," Hwang laughed and said it was a joke, adding a request not to report the information.
At the same gathering, Hwang also commented on the May 18 Democratic Uprising, saying, "Even after continuous dispersals, they regrouped four to five times overnight. Without someone trained, ordinary citizens could not have organized like that."
After Hwang's remarks were reported by MBC and others on the evening of the 14th, criticism spread widely. Opposition parties such as the Democratic Party of Korea and the Green Justice Party, as well as press organizations including the Korea Journalists Association, demanded Hwang's dismissal or resignation.
In response, Hwang issued an official apology two days later. It is interpreted that he was concerned that his inappropriate remarks could have a negative impact with less than a month remaining until the general election. However, in his apology statement, Hwang did not mention his position, seemingly rejecting calls for his resignation.
The Democratic Party of Korea again urged Hwang's dismissal following his apology regarding the "sashimi knife terror incident."
Kwon Chil-seung, the chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, said in a written briefing, "Dismiss 'Media Threat Secretary Hwang Sang-mu' immediately," adding, "This is not an issue that can be quietly overlooked with an apology. Responsible conduct means resignation, not an apology."
He also criticized, "The Senior Secretary for Civil Society, who should work for citizen integration and communication, is blatantly threatening the public, so he is not a Senior Secretary for Civil Society but a 'Media Threat Secretary.'"
He continued, "President Yoon Suk-yeol must abandon the authoritarian regime's mindset and stance and immediately dismiss Hwang, who casually utters threats with a distorted view of the media. If no action is taken, President Yoon will be considered to be endorsing Hwang Sang-mu's remarks," he added.
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