Union Issues Statement: "Irrational Behavior by Journalist Is Unacceptable"
Entry Ban on Media Outlet... Legal Action Considered
Members of the Sinan County Public Officials Labor Union gathered at 4:30 PM on the 12th to announce a statement. Photo by Seunghyun Jung
The Sinan County Public Officials Labor Union (Chairman Yoon Ho-hyun, hereinafter referred to as "the union") has expressed strong regret over the recent irrational behavior and unauthorized entry by a journalist in the county office's duty room.
On November 12 at around 4:30 PM, the union gathered in the lobby of the Sinan County Office with Chairman Yoon and about 30 union members. They strongly condemned the journalist at the center of the recent controversy, stating that it was "a challenge to public authority and a blatant act of intimidation against the public service sector."
According to the union, on November 3, the journalist, while intoxicated, entered the Sinan County Office duty room without permission, forced a public official to call for someone to take over their shift, demanded a meeting, and seriously disrupted administrative order. Despite being properly asked to leave by the public official, the journalist continued to make unreasonable requests such as "order me jajangmyeon" or "give me water." The behavior only stopped after the police were called to the scene.
The union pointed out, "This is not simply a case of misconduct, but a clear abuse of press status and a violation of public authority, as it interfered with the work of the on-duty public official." The union also noted, "This journalist has abused the information disclosure system more than 40 times this year alone, placing an excessive workload on the responsible public officials and engaging in verbal abuse."
The Sinan County Public Officials Labor Union demanded: ▲ an official apology from the journalist and the media outlet to Sinan County officials; ▲ that media organizations sanction the outlet and make efforts for self-regulation; ▲ that the government establish measures to prevent the abuse of malicious information disclosure requests; and ▲ that judicial authorities conduct a thorough investigation into pseudo-journalistic activities and impose strong penalties.
Finally, the union stated, "Public officials exist to serve the residents, and will not yield to threats or mockery from any particular media outlet." They added, "In response to this incident, we will completely refuse entry and coverage by the journalist and the media outlet in question, and will pursue legal action, including criminal charges."
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