[Editorial] Presidential Office Must Apologize for Twisting Facts

Allegations in the Cheong Wa Dae Media Brief stating that this newspaper supported the 1977 capital relocation plans by then-President Park Chung-hee to the point of shame turned out to be completely groundless.

As seen in editorials and other reports back then, this newspaper indicated problems that could be caused by the ramshackle relocation of the capital, point-by-point, and demanded prudence in the government’s decision. All these are also confirmed in the testimonies by then-chief of staff of the Presidential Office and officials who were responsible for the plans.

The Presidential Office must apologize for distorting the facts and be responsible for them in any shape or form. How can the Cheong Wa Dae Media Brief, the official media of the Presidential Office which is allegedly made to publicize the president’s opinion and intents directly to the public, gloss over the facts and damage the honor of a newspaper with 80 years’ history and misleads its readers as well as the public? We have to ask whether this is the true face of the public participation and reforms for which this government has been arguing.

If it wanted to revisit the disgraceful chapters of media history, it should have done it without bias. It should have observed how other publications or media which unconditionally supported not only the old relocation plan but also indeed any decisions by the “supreme ruler” back then have changed today, rather than targeting a newspaper which attempted to play its own role in critiquing the severely harsh Yushin government of Park Chung-hee. Who would trust Cheong Wa Dae Brief, a self-acclaimed publication directly for the public, when it lacks the sense of balance.

There is no lesson that will just be given. Former President Park, faced with criticisms from some media, has begun to exercise extreme prudence by forming an executive capital construction taskforce in his office. Although he did not like the criticism at first, he admitted soon that the criticisms were the inherent role of the media and opened his ears to them. This is what the current Presidential Office should learn.