Lee Appears on MBC's 100-Minute Debate
"Press Freedom Must Not Protect Lawlessness"
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said that his criticism of CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' which he posted on his social media (SNS) and deleted after one hour, "aligned with his intentions."
On the afternoon of the 19th, Lee appeared on MBC's 100-Minute Debate and said, "I posted it because I thought that way." However, regarding the deletion of the post by the party leader's office, citing an account manager's mistake, he added, "(The staff) did not get final approval and deleted it because it was not favorable."
Earlier, on the previous day, Lee posted a critical message targeting 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on his Facebook and deleted it after about an hour. He linked the broadcast from August 28 of last year and wrote, "I wondered why Kim Hyun-jung's News Show was so harsh on the Democratic Party and Lee Jae-myung, and it seems there was a reason behind such malicious framing."
At that time, Park Sung-min, head of Political Consulting Min, who appeared as a panelist, said, "The relationship between the presidential office and the ruling party dealing with the opposition is similar to how the U.S. and the South Korean government dealt with North Korea in the past." The program edited this content by labeling a photo of President Yoon Seok-youl as 'America,' a photo of former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon as 'South Korea,' and Lee's photo as 'North Korea?'.
Regarding this, Lee explained, "(Looking at the photos) Lee Jae-myung is portrayed as being like North Korea. In the situation where so-called pro-North Korea accusations are being made, there were also very malicious things about previous trials."
Regarding overall media coverage, Lee said, "The media quickly reports unfavorable news about me as 'exclusive,' but when I am acquitted, there is little coverage," adding, "The overwhelming majority of the media is making efforts. In total, it seems to be negative for me." He emphasized, "Freedom of the press must be guaranteed, but it should not protect lawlessness."
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