By Mitch Shin
Earlier this month, the United States-owned news network Voice of America (VOA) published an article explaining how the Yoon Suk Yeol government suppressed press freedom in South Korea.
Shedding light on his background as a prosecutor-general, the article illuminated how his government reacted by listing the number of defamation cases pursued by his government and his political allies.
According to the VOA report, 11 defamation cases have already been pursued against the media during the first 18 months of Yoon’s presidency. There were only four cases under his predecessor Moon Jae-in’s presidency.
On his first diplomatic debut in New York in September 2022, Yoon made a hot mic gaffe which blew up into a scandal. He seemed to be using inappropriate terms toward U.S. President Joe Biden but his office’s excuse was that the term was used toward the South Korean lawmakers, not Biden.
According to a poll surveyed by Jowon C&I days after the hot mic scandal, more than 60 percent of the public responded that “Biden” was the word that Yoon said in the video.
When I was working at the Diplomat, I too published an article about this scandal. Days after the publication, I remember that someone in the ruling People Power Party submitted a rebuttal article against mine through the submissions channel of The Diplomat but my boss rejected it due to the lack of logic and quality of the article.
Later on, some podcaster and pro-Yoon supporters started distorting my reports to spread misinformation about myself and my report but I did not make any complaints. I was recommended to file a legal suit against them but I did not because I believed and still believe that we journalists talk and behave through our reports, not legal suits.
Before writing that story about Yoon’s hot mic scandal, I was expecting to listen carefully to what Yoon said due to the presidential office’s protestation. But I did not need to because I clearly heard him saying “Biden” and some other things in the reports released by MBC.
Under this circumstance, who generated fake news?
Days after this scandal, Yoon halted his signature move: his interpretation of door-stepping, a short Q&A with reporters on his way to work every morning.
The reason for the halt of the door-stepping session was a so-called “accident,” implying the row between a MBC reporter and a senior official of Yoon’s presidential office. After Yoon accused MBC of making a malicious report, the reporter asked questions regarding this but Yoon concluded the talks with reporters and headed to his office. The senior official complained about that behavior: asking questions to the president when he was heading to his office. According to the reports, the official called it rude behavior.
How can this be rude? The president should always be ready to be asked tough questions by reporters because communicating with reporters is equal to communicating with the public. The government needs to be kept in check by reporters at all times. And the public relies on the media for information on the government.
Also, in the same way, the president can suddenly conclude his talks with reporters at any time when confronted with tough questions, reporters can ask the questions at any time, even when he is heading into his office. This scene is often witnessed in the United States.
Days after he was elected, Yoon swiftly moved his administration’s workplace to Yongsan District, not the Blue House, to communicate with the people better. As his door-stepping sessions have indefinitely been halted, however, he is a typical president standing behind his staff members to avoid being asked tough questions.
Let’s talk about freedom of the press.
Yoon's office told VOA that it holds “freedom of the press in the highest regard” and called it “the core value of a robust democracy.”
However, if the president is not eager to face tough questions from reporters, how can freedom of the press be enhanced?
Also, the presidential office said fake news is an “enemy of democracy” that “distorts people’s decision-making.” If so, Yoon’s vehement denial of accusations that his mother-in-law, who was involved in serious crimes during his presidential campaign, had consequentially affected people’s decision-making on who to vote for. His mother-in-law was handed a one-year prison sentence for using a fake bank balance certificate to purchase real estate. Under the logic the presidential office used, complaints should also be filed against Yoon in accordance with laws and principles as a response to “fake news.”
Yoon has a right to actively respond to fake news if that contains inaccurate information with no space for him to deny. Anyone who maliciously makes fake news to downgrade freedom of the press should be punished.
However, what Yoon should know is that covering his (and his wife’s) wrongdoings does not mean that journalists are trying to make fake news. Rather, he and his wife must fully respond to any allegations raised by reporters, considering the positions they hold.
President Yoon, if you sincerely respect freedom of the press and support journalists’ work, please take part in an interview with a range of media outlets, not just the conservative ones. Also, please be aware that if journalists start feeling that their work can be punished by the government and their families could face raids and investigations by police and prosecutors, even though they only contained factual information in their reports, no one in the field of journalism would be able to cover the government’s wrongdoings.
Freedom of the press is the cornerstone of democracy. Please boost press freedom and free journalistic activities for reporters who are working hard for the people and their right to information.
Mitch Shin is a young fellow at the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy. Shin was an assistant editor and chief Korea correspondent for the Diplomat, and a non-resident research fellow at the Institute for Security & Development Policy, Stockholm Korea Center.
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