Presidential chief of staff accuses media of destabilizing Korea-US alliance

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Sat, September 23, 2023 | 13:59

Foreign Affairs

Presidential chief of staff accuses media of destabilizing Korea-US alliance

Posted : 2022-09-29 17:48

Updated : 2022-09-29 21:33

Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki speaks during a briefing in the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Non-binding motion calling for dismissal of foreign minister approved

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki showed his disdain for the fact that the media had reported on President Yoon Suk-yeol's private conversation with Foreign Minister Park Jin in New York last week, which were caught on camera.

In an unusually strong tone, Kim claimed Yoon had been misquoted and alleged that the media outlet reports that quoted Yoon saying "Biden" were "fake news."

"I myself and other presidential office staff view this case as no more than fake news and we believe that fake news should not be tolerated," he told reporters during a briefing in the presidential office on Thursday. "Developed countries despise and dislike fake news, but here in Korea, we have been a little too tolerant, so we have had many such cases before, such as the mad cow disease conspiracy theory (when the government resumed U.S. beef imports)."

Kim added that such fake news can make society sick and drive a wedge between people, saying that is why he and the other presidential office staff took the case "very seriously."

The presidential chief of staff claimed that the media outlets that reported what he calls "fake news" had "fabricated" what had happened in order to destabilize the Korea-U.S. alliance.

Kim was also critical of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) for pushing for the passage of a motion to impeach Foreign Minister Park Jin to take responsibility for what the DPK says was a "diplomatic disaster," namely Yoon's recent trip to the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.

The motion was approved later in the day after the DPK tabled it and 168 lawmakers voted in favor of dismissing the foreign minister. The motion is not binding.

Kim likened the foreign minister currently in the hot seat to a military general fighting against the enemy on the battlefield.

"Politicians are trying to dismiss such a military general of a nation at war, which I think is suicidal. This is regrettable, and I hope that things like that don't happen again in the future," he said.

Kim's comments reflect what seems to be a shared belief among ruling party members that the DPK's push for the dismissal of the foreign minister is part of its tactic to deal a blow to the Yoon government.

On Thursday, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) filed a complaint with the prosecution against broadcaster MBC for having quoted President Yoon as having said "Biden" and "the Congress" in the video footage of his private conversation with Foreign Minister Park.

The presidential chief of staff said that what Yoon had actually been caught saying on hot mic is "unclear," as it happened so fast, but said there is no way that he had said "Biden."

The PPP characterized MBC's report on Yoon as "a scandal of fabricating subtitles," and accused MBC of having fabricated Yoon's quotes, as the broadcaster had added subtitles to the video footage of the president's remarks when reporting it.

"I understand that MBC has all high-tech equipment enabling them to figure out what narrators said but they put 'Biden' in the subtitles, something President Yoon didn't say. I wonder if this is what a national broadcaster like MBC is supposed to do," Rep. Choi Hyung-du of the PPP said in a KBS radio show on Thursday. "I presume that they did so intentionally, to destroy the Korea-U.S. relations. Otherwise, they would not have done that."

Earlier in the day, National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo encouraged the DPK floor leader to sit down with his ruling party counterpart to agree on the voting of the motion. They sat down but failed to reach an agreement.

Yoon holds the key to the fate of the foreign minister as he can veto the motion even if it is passed by the National Assembly.

The president showed his stalwart support for Park.

"Minister Park is a person with outstanding abilities and no one can question his credentials as a top diplomat," he said in the morning when asked to comment on the DPK's plan to table the motion to impeach Park. "He is so busy and travels all around the world for the national interest. I am worried about his health."

Yoon said, "I think the people will know for themselves what is right and what is wrong," hinting at his will to veto the motion even if it is approved in the legislature.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr