Turkish broadcaster apologizes for false report

A picture of President Moon Jae-in was shown as that of a suspect in the murder of a Filipina maid. / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

A Turkish broadcaster has apologized for using South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s photo as a murder suspect.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Monday, Show TV issued an apology to President Moon and the people of Korea during its prime-time news program on Sunday night (local time).

“Our news program used the photo of the president falsely. It was an unintentional mistake. We apologize to President Moon and the people of our brotherhood country,” the ministry quoted the news anchor as saying.

On Feb. 25, Show TV used Moon’s image on a news program to represent a suspect who allegedly killed a Filipina maid in Kuwait.

It also described Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka as a “millionaire businessman and his wife,” showing a photo taken during her visit to Korea for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics last month.

After the ministry complained about the error, Show TV dropped the report and issued an apology to the ministry earlier this month. But the ministry demanded a public apology.