Ruling party under attack over alleged attempts to control media

Rep. Park Sung-joong, speaking, and lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party, who are members of the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, hold a press conference at the Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday, to call for the resignation from the committee of ruling Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Yoon Young-chan over his alleged attempts to influence news layouts on a portal site. Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has come under fire over messages sent by one of its lawmakers that the opposition claims were an attempt to censor news on portal sites.

Despite the head of the DPK warning him about the “improper messages,” the opposition parties are saying the incident was corroboration that the ruling bloc was attempting to control the media, calling for the lawmaker's resignation.

The controversy rose after Telegram messages between Rep. Yoon Young-chan of the DPK and his aide were filmed by a media camera during a National Assembly plenary session, Tuesday.

As the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young was delivering a speech, Yoon complained in the messages that the country's internet giant Kakao had put an article on the speech on the main page of its portal site Daum.

“Please complain strongly about this to Kakao,” Yoon said in the messages. “This is too much. Please tell Kakao to come in.”

Yoon later said he was telling his aide to ask Kakao why Joo's speech was placed on the main page, while DPK Chairman Lee Nak-yon's speech the day before was not.

The captured messages immediately caused controversy over interference in the media and portal sites, as many Koreans read news articles on the latter rather than on the formers' websites. Adding to the controversy is that Yoon was previously an executive vice president of another internet portal giant Naver and the former senior press secretary for President Moon Jae-in, and is currently a member of the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, which reviews policies and regulations on the media and the internet and thus has strong influence on portal site operators.

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Yoon Young-chan speaks during a meeting of the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, Tuesday. He has been in the hot seat for filing a complaint against portal site operator Kakao over news article layouts that he claimed were unfavorable to his party and the ruling bloc. Yonhap

At Tuesday's committee meeting following the incident, Yoon said he regretted that his behavior had become a political issue. But PPP lawmakers on the committee walked out of the meeting room to protest the incident, saying Yoon should resign from his lawmaker position to take responsibility. They said it was problematic that Yoon, who is well aware about the principles of the media and the internet, tried to use his power to help the ruling bloc win public support by controlling its coverage.

“The truth about media control has been revealed. We'll take more steps while watching how the incident develops, such as filing a complaint with law enforcement authorities and asking the Assembly's Ethics Committee to discipline him,” the PPP lawmakers said in a statement. “The government and the ruling party should thoroughly investigate the case and take full responsibility for it through appropriate measures including Yoon's resignation.”

PPP Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon said, “Yoon was the senior press secretary in the Moon administration, and this shows there is a high probability that Cheong Wa Dae has frequently tried to controlled portal site operators.”

Yoon's alleged attempts to “summon” Kakao officials brought strong criticism from the minor opposition parties as well

“Rep. Yoon is currently a member of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee which deals with regulations on portals. The Justice Party expresses regret that Yoon's behavior raised suspicions that the ruling party is using its power to control a portal's news layout to influence public opinion,” said Justice Party spokeswoman Jo Hye-min.

Socar CEO Lee Jae-woong, a former CEO of Daum, also wrote on Facebook: “Lawmakers should not pressure portal site operators to put forward articles that are favorable to their side.”

As the controversy grew, DPK Chairman Lee issued a strong warning to Yoon about his misconduct that was liable to be “misunderstood,” during the party's Supreme Council meeting, Wednesday.

Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon speaks during meeting of the party's Supreme Council at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Lee strongly warned DPK member Rep. Yoon Young-chan over his alleged attempt to exercise his influence to control media coverage on portal sites. Yonhap

“I heard from the lawmaker that he thought it was a problem if the portal did not deal with speeches made by leaders of the ruling and main opposition party impartially. But despite his explanation, his behavior could be misunderstood by the people. I strongly warned him,” Lee said. “I call on all DPK lawmakers including myself to refrain from any behavior that could cause misunderstanding or raise concern among the people.”

Meanwhile, Kakao said the layout of news articles on its portal is not processed manually by its staffers but through AI technology.