Kyunghyang Shinmun’s Position on the Office of the President’s Decision to Ban MBC Reporters from Boarding Code One

President Yoon Suk-yeol has an informal meeting with the press on his way to work at the Office of the President in Yongsan, Seoul on the morning of November 10. Office of the President press photographers

On November 10, the Kyunghyang Shinmun decided not to board the presidential plane (Code One) when covering President Yoon Suk-yeol’s upcoming ASEAN and G20 summit meetings.

On November 9, the Office of the President banned MBC reporters from boarding the presidential plane during President Yoon Suk-yeol’s trip to Southeast Asia on grounds that they repeatedly “published distorted and biased news on foreign affairs recently.”

The Kyunghyang Shinmun judged this decision to be an unfair act that violates the freedom of the press. Journalists boardthe presidential plane to cover the official activities of the president, the chief executive of state affairs. The latest decision by the presidential office restricts such basic activities of the press, thereby posing the risk of violating the people’s right to know.

In protest of the ban, the Kyunghyang Shinmun reporters will not board the presidential plane and will travel on a commercial airline to cover President Yoon’s ASEAN and G20 summit meetings.