The boycott of a television network by the South Korean president is causing criticism

Seoul, 10 November The boycott that South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s office adopted against the Mbc television network today sparked media criticism that accused the head of government of violating press freedom.

Yoon’s office notified MBC on November 8 that it would not allow its reporters to travel aboard the presidential plane during the president’s upcoming trip, citing “repeated biased and partial coverage” of the station.

The South Korean leader will travel from tomorrow until next week to Cambodia and Indonesia to participate in the summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the G-20 respectively.

News of the boycott was not known until today, the same day six journalist associations issued a harsh statement against Yoon and his office, which they accused of “unconstitutional subjection to the press”.

The MBC network was responsible for releasing a video in which Yoon was caught using an open microphone using seemingly vulgar language during his visit to the United States last September.

The recording is not very sharp due to the ambient noise, but the subtitles were made by MBC ones they ignited the controversy, as Yoon’s interpretation is heard saying “if these bastards in Congress don’t approve of it, poor Biden is going to look very ugly.”

The presidential office then denied that these were the president’s words and assured that the network had deliberately tried to distort what happened and that it was damaging relations between South Korea and the United States.

Asked about the decision made against MBC, Yoon himself asked for understanding and said today that “important interests are at stake” during his Southeast Asian tour.

For its part, the chain released a statement today stating that this action “clearly limits the work of the press” and said its reporters will take alternative flights to Phnom Penh and Bali, where the aforementioned summits will be held. EFE

asb / ahg / amd