President Lee said, "Freedom of speech is not a privilege" to SBS union backlash

*This content was translated by AI.

President Lee Jae-myung said, "Freedom of speech does not mean the privilege of the press."

President Lee quoted historian Jeon Woo-yong's criticism of the SBS union on his X (X, former Twitter) account on the 22nd, saying, "Right has obligations and freedom has responsibilities. Truth and justice are the breaths of democracy, and the Constitution specifically protects the media on the premise of establishing privileges while prohibiting the establishment of privileges. However, freedom of speech does not mean a privilege of the press," he wrote.

"If you distort facts and disseminate falsehoods for political purposes while ignoring the responsibility of the orthodox writing, it is reasonable for the media to take greater responsibility than the general public in light of the adverse effects," he said. "Isn't it fair in light of common sense and to have responsibilities and obligations as much as freedom and rights?"

"Liberty without responsibility violates the freedom of others," he said Eventually, he stressed that he would harm his freedom and rights.

Earlier, President Lee demanded an apology from the production team of SBS's "I Want to Know That" (abbreviated as "G-R"). President Lee apologized and demanded a report later, saying, "Thanks to the miraculous logic of 'G' PD and Kim Sang-joong's real acting, we were even driven to murder. It seems to be one of physical terrorism mobilized to remove me, judicial risk manipulation through prosecutors, and image damage operations through the media," he said.

In response, the production team of "GR" issued a statement on the 20th and apologized for raising suspicions without a solid basis in relation to the "Power and Gangster-Fataya Murder One Year After" episode aired on July 21, 2018.

Regarding President Lee's alleged involvement between politicians and violent organizations in Seongnam, mentioning that he was included in the list of lawyers for two members of Seongnam International Mafia in 2007, the production team said, "It has been confirmed that the alleged involvement between Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and Seongnam International Mafia at the time was not legally true," and promised to prevent the recurrence of "GR" by strictly complying with SBS's "SBS Journalism Rules" enacted and implemented in 2024.

However, the SBS labor union protested in a statement, saying, "We strongly condemn President Lee's SNS moves that threaten press freedom and urge him to stop taming anti-democratic media."

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*This content was translated by AI.