German Public Broadcaster Cancels Airing Amid Controversy Over Documentary Supporting Yoon's Martial Law

German ARD and ZDF Documentary
Video Also Removed from Website

Regarding the emergency martial law situation, President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was arrested and indicted on charges of being the 'leader of the rebellion,' received a court decision to cancel his detention after 51 days in custody. Meanwhile, the German public broadcasting channel deleted a documentary related to President Yoon's emergency martial law from its website. This documentary was criticized for defending martial law even before it was aired.

News related to the court's acceptance of President Yoon Seok-yeol's request for cancellation of detention is being reported in the Seoul Station waiting room on the 7th. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 6th (local time), Phoenix, the German broadcaster operating ARD and ZDF, the first and second German public broadcasters, was scheduled to air a 28-minute documentary titled "National Crisis Overshadowed by China and North Korea," but suddenly changed the schedule to broadcast a documentary about U.S. President Donald Trump instead. The video was also removed from the website.

The documentary, which was first released on the broadcaster's website on the 25th of last month, included interviews with Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon, conservative YouTuber Woo Dong-gyun, Professor Heo Byung-gi, an emeritus professor at Inha University who claims the April 2020 general election was rigged, and Professor Lee Ho-seon of Kookmin University, who argued the unconstitutionality of President Yoon's impeachment motion. The broadcast introduced Pastor Jeon as the "founder of the Gwanghwamun protest movement" and Mr. Woo as a "journalist and YouTuber." It also covered far-right claims that President Yoon's impeachment trial was illegal or unfair, and presented allegations of election interference by China and North Korea as if they were factual.

In response, the 'Freedom of Expression Network Against Hate and Censorship (Article 21 Net),' a coalition of 16 human rights and media organizations in Korea, issued a statement on the 6th saying, "While overwhelmingly focusing on the claims of some far-right groups that the majority of Korean citizens consider false and delusional, only one source pointed out the problems of martial law." They added, "The biggest issue is that Europe has revived Cold War-era prejudices about East Asia." Article 21 Net specifically mentioned J?rgen Hinzpeter, a foreign journalist who first reported on the truth of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980 and was affiliated with ARD, criticizing, "ARD is denying the history of Korea's democratic struggle that he risked his life to inform the world about."

The 'Korean Residents in Germany Yoon Seok-yeol Impeachment Rally Group,' composed of Korean residents living in Germany, announced that as of the morning of the 7th, 1,922 people had signed a letter of protest to be sent to the broadcasting station.