Presidential Office on Hwang Sang-mu Resignation Rumors: "No Coercion of Journalists... Respecting Press Freedom and Responsibility"

Pressure to Resign Not Only from the Opposition but Also from the Ruling Party
Interpretation of Negative Views on Hwang Sang-mu's Resignation Proposal

On the 18th, the Presidential Office stated, "We have never exerted any coercion or pressure on media personnel regarding specific issues, nor will we do so." This is interpreted as a negative view on the demand for the dismissal of Hwang Sang-mu, the Presidential Office's Senior Secretary for Civil Society, who made the 'kitchen knife terror remark' to an MBC reporter.

The Presidential Office spokesperson's office announced this through a notice titled 'Notice to Reporters' to the press corps on the morning of the same day, adding, "Our government has never used intelligence agencies to surveil journalists or the National Tax Service to conduct tax audits on media companies, unlike past administrations, and we have neither the intention nor the system to do so." They further emphasized, "Respecting the freedom of the press and the responsibility of media organizations thoroughly is our government's national philosophy." However, the notice still did not clarify any particular stance on the position of Senior Secretary Hwang.

Earlier, on the 14th, during a lunch with some reporters, Senior Secretary Hwang said to an MBC reporter, "Listen carefully, MBC," and added, "I came from military intelligence, and in 1988, an economic newspaper reporter was stabbed twice in the thigh at Apgujeong Hyundai Apartment." It was also reported that he implied the problem was that the reporter had written articles critical of the government at the time. The incident Hwang referred to was the 1988 terror attack on reporter Oh Hong-geun, who wrote columns criticizing the military regime in a monthly magazine and was attacked by soldiers from the military intelligence command. Reporter Oh suffered severe lacerations to his thigh at that time.

Not only civil society and opposition parties but also the bereaved family, including Oh's wife, former Dongduk Women's University professor Song Myung-kyun, and his younger brother Oh Hyung-geun, strongly criticized the remarks in interviews with the media. In response, Senior Secretary Hwang apologized on the 16th, saying, "I apologize for causing concern to the public with my words and actions."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Despite Hwang's apology, as criticism poured in from the ruling party, the Presidential Office appears to have stepped in to manage the situation. Earlier, Han Dong-hoon, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, met with reporters at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, and pointed out that Hwang's remarks "do not meet the public's expectations and that he should decide his own position." Kim Eun-hye, a People Power Party pre-candidate (Seongnam Bundang-eul, Gyeonggi), who previously served as the Presidential Office's Chief Public Relations Secretary, also urged, "Many ruling party candidates have resigned over offensive remarks made years ago. I hope Senior Secretary Hwang will voluntarily resign."

The Presidential Office's statement denying any tax audits on media companies also appears to be a rebuttal to the statement from the MBC Journalists Association (MBC Jihyeop). On the 15th, MBC Jihyeop issued a statement saying, "The Yoon Seok-yeol government is exerting all kinds of pressure on MBC by mobilizing state agencies, including banning boarding on the dedicated plane, lawsuits, intensive tax investigations, attempts at raids by investigative agencies, and repeated severe sanctions through the Korea Communications Standards Commission," and criticized, "This is why Senior Secretary Hwang's mention of the 'kitchen knife terror' does not sound like a joke to MBC reporters at all."