MBC reporter put under police protection following death threat

President Yoon Suk-yeol heads into the presidential office after speaking to reporters at the lobby of the presidential office in Seoul on Nov. 18. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

A reporter from local broadcaster MBC has been put under police protection following an online post that threatened to kill him for his recent shouting match with one of President Yoon Suk-yeol's aides, officials said Tuesday.

The post was uploaded on an online community on Monday, along with a captured image of the verbal battle, saying, "I will go to MBC immediately and kill him."

The quarrel happened last Friday after Yoon said it was "unavoidable" that his office barred MBC's reporters from boarding the presidential plane to cover his Southeast Asia trip earlier this month, accusing the broadcaster of "very malicious behavior" and "fake news."

The reporter shouted "What did MBC do that was malicious?" at the back of the president and then got into a bickering match with the presidential aide who scolded him for being rude.

Upon an alert about the online murder threat, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency opened an investigation and was trying to track down the writer.

Police in Seoul put the reporter under police protection and provided him with a police smart watch to make an emergency call for police help after conducting a patrol around MBC, the officials said.

The post had been deleted as of early Tuesday.

Yonhap