Famous TV anchor joins Moon Jae-in camp

By Park Si-soo

Ko Min-jung / Korea Times file

Popular TV anchor Ko Min-jung has joined the campaign team of Moon Jae-in, the leading presidential contender of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.

She is the first well-known TV personality to join the team, with the formal presidential race expected to begin in a few months.

“Ko, one of the leading figures of KBS, has joined the team to help Moon’s victory,” a camp insider said. “She recently quit KBS.”

Ko said in a report that “(quitting KBS and joining the team) was not a tough decision to make. But I did so with hopes that I will be able to make some kind of contribution to the struggle to protect the freedom of the press.”

President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached in December for her alleged involvement in a corruption scandal, has been accused of attacking media outlets and journalists critical of her and the government. Park’s close aides were arrested recently for creating a “blacklist” of thousands of artists supportive of Park’s political rivals.

Ko’s exact role in the team is unknown. Officials said she will preside over big and small events for Moon.

Ko, who graduated from Kyung Hee University in Seoul, joined KBS, South Korea’s biggest broadcaster, in 2004.