How far can Lee’s press distortions go?

Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung exposed his dangerous view of the press again. Appearing in a trial last week for his alleged violation of the Public Official Election Act, he strongly criticized media outlets for “faithfully writing down what the prosecution says, and distorting and manipulating facts as if they are the prosecution’s pets.” He then wondered, “Why should such journalists be protected?”

After former Vice Gyeonggi Governor Lee Hwa-young, Lee Jae-myung’s deputy when he was the governor, was sentenced to nine years and six months in jail in his first trial on Friday for his role in a private company’s suspicious remittance of $8 million to North Korea in return for favors, the DP leader was additionally indicted of the “third-party bribery” charges on top of his ongoing three trials for his alleged involvement in the Daejang-dong development scandal, election law violation, and subornation of perjury. Lee Jae-myung could have become emotional under such dire circumstances. But he should not have compared the media to the prosecution’s pets.

In democracy, the press’s key role is to keep checks on the powers that be. The government, the opposition, and corporate leaders are no exception. Only when the press closely monitors the sitting power can society maintain transparency.

The DP leader’s pointed comments well reflect his preference of “reports friendly to him.” But history shows that such a perspective always led to a harsh crackdown on freedom of the press.

Lee’s animosity toward the media is nothing new. In his meeting with the press in August 2021 when he was a presidential candidate of the majority party, he said, “The act of arbitrarily distorting and distributing facts in the name of the press must be controlled.” He added, “Imposing punitive damages on the press, currently fixed at five times the damage, is not enough. We must force such media organizations out of business.” The majority party’s resubmission of a revision to the Media Arbitration Act must be closely linked to Lee’s innate hostility toward the media.

After a reporter asked about his troubled private life during the 2018 local elections, Lee ferociously attacked the reporter for asking him a “discourteous question.” He abruptly ended the interview after pulling off his earphone.

If Lee keeps putting the blame on the press and threatening the media, his hardcore supporters will applaud it. But it will not help him extend his support base. Lee loyalists in the DP have joined the chorus in attacking the press. One of them said, “Pets are certainly not a derogatory term” followed by another who said, “Pets are a more decent word than ‘rubbish.’” We wonder who are Lee’s real pets.