The People Power Party has argued that Han Jun-ho, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker and ruling party secretary of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee (SIBCC), should be excluded from the parliamentary audit after it was revealed that he deleted and distorted parts of a KBS statement related to the “KBS reporting external pressure allegations” that were unfavorable to him.
Lee Jin-sook, People Power Party Media Committee Chairperson, and Kim Jang-gyeom, Special Committee on Press Freedom Chairperson, held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 19th and stated, “Circumstances of manipulation and distortion by Han Jun-ho have been exposed during the audit.” They added, “Song Ki-hyeon, SIBCC Chairman, should exclude Han Jun-ho from the upcoming KBS comprehensive audit and KBS president’s confirmation hearing.”
They claimed, “The ‘KBS response document’ released by Han Jun-ho omitted the most critical part: ‘We confirmed that there was a phone call from aides in the SIBCC-affiliated lawmaker’s office to KBS reporting staff.’” They continued, “The response document Han Jun-ho received was identical to the one our party’s lawmakers received when requesting materials from KBS regarding the external pressure allegations. Unless KBS submitted a version with the phrase removed only to Han Jun-ho, it can only be concluded that Han Jun-ho intentionally deleted the unfavorable part before releasing it.”
Lee Jin-sook and Kim Jang-gyeom stated, “Han Jun-ho claimed, ‘KBS officially confirmed that the report was based on its own investigation and editorial judgment, and there were no requests to revise, delete, or halt follow-up reporting.’ However, the official KBS response does not contain such content.” They explained that the original document stated, “No measures were taken,” but Han’s office altered it to, “There were no requests.”
They urged, “Han Jun-ho should stop trying to cover the sky with his palm, apologize for his false explanations and conflicts of interest, and resign from his position.”
In response, Han’s office stated, “The phrase the People Power Party claims was ‘deleted’ was redundant content that KBS had already confirmed multiple times in official statements.” They added, “The People Power Party is playing word games without presenting evidence for their ‘external pressure’ claims.” Han’s office emphasized, “During the KBS audit, KBS officials answered that they did not perceive the calls as ‘external pressure,’ proving the allegations lack grounds.”
Earlier, People Power Party SIBCC members submitted a motion to exclude Han from the parliamentary audit to Song Ki-hyeon, SIBCC Chairman. The motion aims to prevent Han, who faces allegations of “KBS reporting external pressure,” from participating in the audit targeting KBS. It is also interpreted as a retaliatory measure against the Democratic Party’s motion to exclude Lee Jin-sook, a People Power Party lawmaker, from the audit.
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