Presidential secretary apologizes for reference to 1988 attack on journalist

Hwang Sang-moo, senior presidential secretary for civil and social affairs, speaks during a press conference at the presidential office in central Seoul's Yongsan District, Jan. 22. Yonhap

Hwang Sang-moo, senior presidential secretary for civil and social affairs, has apologized for his inappropriate reference to a 1988 terrorist attack on a journalist.

"I apologize for causing concern to the public through my words and actions," he said in a statement sent to reporters, Saturday.

"I failed to understand the situation of the listener. I apologize to all journalists."

He added: "From now on, as a public official, I will be especially careful about my words and actions and behave more responsibly."

His apology came two days after Hwang mentioned the decades-old case, in which agents from the Korea Defense Intelligence Command (KDIC) attacked a reporter who had criticized the military, according to broadcaster MBC, Thursday.

“I finished my military service at the KDIC … and there was a case of an economic newspaper reporter being stabbed in the leg twice in 1988 in front of Hyundai Apartment in Apgujeong (Seoul),” Hwang was quoted as saying.

To make his situation worse, he directed the comment toward MBC, which has been critical of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

He said, “MBC should pay attention.”

Oh Hong-keun, second from left, city editor of the JoongAng Economic Daily, poses with Party for Peace and Democracy President Kim Dae-jung, center, after receiving the Kwanhun Journalism Award at the Press Club, in this January 1989 file photo. Korea Times file

Hwang was referring to the case of the late journalist Oh Hong-keun, who had been the city desk editor of the now-defunct JoongAng Economic Daily and later became the presidential spokesperson for Kim Dae-jung, who was Korea's president from 1988 to 2003.

Oh wrote a column titled “Military culture that should be eradicated” in the August 1988 edition of Monthly JoongAng, and was attacked on Aug. 6 that year near his home by two men in tracksuits. The defense ministry investigation later found that the attack was ordered by a general of the KDIC, and the KDIC commander approved the crime.

During the luncheon, Hwang reportedly said his remark was “a joke” and asked the reporters present not to mention it in their “information reporting,” which is a journalists’ memo to their desk editors about the information they collected that is inappropriate for a news article.

While referring to the case, Hwang said writing stories critical of the government in those days had been problematic, MBC reported.

More recently, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has been butting heads with MBC after the broadcaster reported that Yoon used profanity in referring to the U.S. government in a hot mic incident on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in September 2022.

At the time, Yoon had accused the broadcaster of airing “malicious fake news,” to which an MBC reporter yelled at the president, “What do you think is malicious?” This resulted in a quarrel with a presidential secretary.

The presidential office then banned reporters working for MBC from boarding the presidential jet on the president's state visit to the U.S. in April 2023.

The ban was lifted later, but tensions remain between the broadcaster and the presidential office. Since the quarrel, Yoon has not been holding official press conferences, instead resorting to live broadcasting or streaming to deliver his remarks to the public.

Rep. Ko Min-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea demands President Yoon Suk Yeol dismiss his senior secretary for civil and social affairs Hwang Sang-moo during a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea issued a statement denouncing the senior secretary, who is also a former news anchor, accusing him of “threatening the press” and saying Yoon should dismiss him from his post.

“It was a frightening threat by a key official of the presidential office,” DPK Rep. Ko Min-jung said. “Though Hwang said it was a joke, it is a devastatingly thoughtless comment that cannot be the subject of any joke.”

Reform Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok wrote on Facebook “Is a knife attack in response to reports that do not suit their tastes the media policy of the Yoon administration?”

Saemirae Party Chairman Lee Nak-yon also said, “The comments show that democracy and freedom of the press were downgraded to that of the era of military dictatorship during the Yoon administration.”

Oh Hyung-keun, the younger brother of Oh Dae-keun, told Hankyoreh newspaper, “The presidential secretary, who is a former journalist, used the brutal incident as a means of public coercion by openly threatening a specific media outlet.”