Reporter Lee Yu-jin of Kyunghyang Shinmun Reveals Being Refused a Business Card by Choi Min-hee, Chokes Up

Ha said he hopes that if Choi does not withdraw, he will fail to win votes in the Honam region and be pushed out of the top six.

Previously, to make Choi the top-ranked member, they used an odd-even birthday pairing strategy, but after Choi came in first, Lee Sung-yun fell out of the top six, Jo explained. Choi's camp is now focusing on Han Min-soo and Lee Sung-yun to get all three elected, and Jo worried that by concentrating on Lee, Kim Yong could be put at risk.

Jo Gye-won said he personally strongly supports Kim Yong and appealed to party members listening to the broadcast to support and cheer for Kim Yong.

Jo stressed that Kim Yong holds a place in the president's heart.

Jo Gye-won stressed that Kim Yong worked as the president's alter ego, served three prison terms, and despite being recommended by 78 lawmakers and losing elections, did not give up and took on hard campaigns in the Yeongnam region as a rank-and-file volunteer. He explained that if Kim Yong becomes a Supreme Council member, he could work 24 hours a day for the party, unlike lawmakers busy with legislative work and parliamentary audits, and could devote himself fully to the party and government as a rank-and-file member. Jo argued Kim Yong is the ideal person to dedicate himself to the party.

He stressed that his demand is not harsh criticism but a common-sense level request, and while refraining from calling for Choi to resign as a lawmaker, he argued it is inappropriate for someone who has served as chair of the Korea Communications Commission to remain active on a media-related committee.

Ha Heon-gi criticized Choi Min-hee for pushing media reform while suppressing journalists. He pointed out that this approach would not lead journalists to accept media reform but would instead be seen by them as media suppression. He said the Democratic Party must not suppress the press in the same way as the Yoon Suk-yeol government, and criticized as problematic the remark, by someone seeking the party leadership, that the situation was 'a case of reaping what one sows.'

Choi's camp, apart from its birthday-based pairing strategy, has reportedly run no real campaign, and has been accused of displeasing people by heckling rival candidates during speeches and fighting with first-term lawmakers. Ha said it is natural for the press to focus on such problematic behavior, and that aides blocking cameras is not common sense. He said that responding to news coverage with threats of lawsuits only generates more articles.

Doubts were raised about Choi Min-hee's interference with news coverage. Panelists questioned whether a former chair of the Science and ICT Committee would really engage in so-called 'camera blocking.' They also noted that Choi once headed the Minjok Civic Media Coalition (Minneon), a media-related civic group, and questioned whether such conduct is normal.

He appeared from 2016, and pointed out that while many people were criticizing TV Chosun at the time, he himself had experience as a panelist there.

A panelist noted that Choi Min-hee takes pride in being a former reporter for the Malji (Maeil Economic Daily... referred to as 'malji' in the discussion), and said that Oh Yeon, CEO of OhmyNews, is also a former Malji reporter. He stressed that OhmyNews, which appeared in 2000, made a major contribution to media reform and democratization, and was one of the top contributors in stopping the insurrection. He said that when other YouTube broadcasts were unable to report properly, OhmyNews streamed the scene from start to finish so citizens could see what was happening. He criticized Choi's 'Kat-l-mak'-style interference with coverage against OhmyNews, an important outlet in the democratic camp, simply because it does not support him or criticizes him, as unjust.

Critics said Choi Min-hee's camp applies double standards toward the press. They frequently use the phrase 'ceremonial press' while, when attacking Kim Yong-nam, they cite TV Chosun articles, a contradictory practice, they said. They also pointed out that Choi's November 2022 remark in a radio interview, that 'the freedom to refuse coverage belongs only to ordinary people, not to public figures like the president,' has resurfaced and become controversial as it contradicts his own conduct.

She revealed that in the early days of covering the Democratic Party, full of enthusiasm, she greeted Choi in an elevator and handed him her business card, but Choi looked at it and returned it, saying, 'I won't take your card. I won't accept it.' Lee said she was shocked, having written many articles on press suppression under the previous Yoon Suk-yeol government's police agency beat, to find the Democratic Party also closed to reporting. She later asked a junior reporter whether they had had the same experience, and the junior reporter said they had likewise been told, 'Do your reporting properly...'

Lee Yu-jin said a junior reporter was deeply hurt after being told by Choi Min-hee to 'do your reporting properly.' The junior reporter, a media beat reporter who had diligently covered the Yoon government's control of broadcasting, felt disrespected as a professional when hearing such words right after greeting the chair of the Korea Communications Commission.

She noted that while she could reveal everything circulating behind the scenes about why the committee became one reporters avoid during her time covering the Democratic Party, reporters do not disclose all of that, and said she hopes Choi will consider this point at least once.

Lee Yu-jin of Kyunghyang Shinmun urged Choi Min-hee to resign as a lawmaker and changed her previous position.

A panelist argued that under the current circumstances, it would be shameful for Choi Min-hee to become the top Supreme Council member without any change in ranking. They asked party members in Honam and the Seoul metropolitan area to be sure to adjust the rankings, and urged that such campaigning never be allowed within the party again.

Still, they criticized Choi's camp for attacking such reporters as a double standard.

The panelist asked Jo Gye-won to verify the matter, and if it is true, asked the party to correct it.

Viewer 'Tomato Onewon' sent comments agreeing with Choi Min-hee's 'press hatred' remarks and also agreeing with Lee Yu-jin's statements.