Controversy Over Presidential Promotional Video Election Interference... Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Says "Necessary Action"

"Just One of the Routine Tasks"

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism explained on the 8th that the production and distribution of the presidential policy promotional video, which became controversial ahead of the April 10 general election, is "one of the basic tasks of national public relations." It emphasized, "It is naturally necessary for public officials in charge of major policies to share the president's national agenda and key tasks to ensure the smooth progress of their duties."

The video involved in the election interference controversy is titled 'The President's Path.' It was produced by K-TV reflecting President Yoon Seok-yeol's national agenda and key initiatives such as 'R&D Budget Innovation' and 'Normalization of Korea-Japan Relations.'

When the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism distributed it on the internal networks of each ministry, some public officials strongly opposed it. The opposition party also demanded its deletion, calling it a 'government authority election.' Kim Seong-hoe, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, criticized in a statement, "Are you now trying to use even public officials for the election?" and "Public officials are not campaign workers for the People Power Party." It is reported that some ministries deleted the video in response.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism maintains that it proceeded according to Article 13 of the 'Organization of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Its Affiliated Agencies.' A related official explained, "We routinely plan, edit, produce, and distribute policy promotional publications and videos," adding, "Sharing this video with each ministry was also part of routine work conducted on the same level."