hankyoreh

The interior of Air Force One, the plane reserved for use by South Korea’s president (Hankyoreh file photo)

The Hankyoreh decided on Thursday to not fly on the presidential jet to cover President Yoon Suk-yeol’s tour of Southeast Asia, which he leaves for on Friday to return Wednesday. The decision is based on the Hankyoreh’s conclusion that the presidential office’s decision to ban MBC reporter from making use of the jet for the trip — a decision based on the office’s claims that the broadcaster is guilty of “repeated distorted and biased coverage of foreign policy issues” — is an anti-constitutional attempt to suppress the media.

The presidential jet is a public asset that operates on a government budget, and access to that space should not be restricted discriminately at the whims of the presidential office. As such, reporters with the Hankyoreh will be using commercial flights to cover Yoon’s participation in the ASEAN summit, the South Korea-US-Japan summit, and the G20 summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Bali, Indonesia.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]