이재명 대통령, SBS 노조 '그알' 사과 반발에 "언론 자유 특권 아냐" President Lee Jae-myung said, "It

[정승남세기영어교육연구회장]

이재명 대통령, SBS 노조 '그알' 사과 반발에 "언론 자유 특권 아냐"

President Lee Jae-myung said, "It's not a privilege of freedom of speech," in response to the SBS union's opposition to the apology

'그것이 알고 싶다', 이재명 대통령과 조직 범죄의 연관성 주장에 대해 사과

'Unanswered Questions' apologizes for alleging ties between President Lee, organized crime

송고2026-03-22 18:40 연합뉴스

이 대통령, SBS 노조 '그알' 사과 반발에 "언론 자유 특권 아냐"

https://youtu.be/7IYgYPT0a6M?si=N2k2plRcEBz2Zgrt

이재명 대통령은 "헌법은 정론직필을 전제로 언론을 특별히 보호한다. 그렇다고 언론의 자유가 언론의 특권을 의미하는 것은 아니다"라며 "권리에는 의무가, 자유에는 책임이 따른다"고 밝혔습니다.

이 대통령은 오늘(22일) SNS에 SBS 시사제작 프로그램 '그것이 알고싶다' 제작진이 이른바 '조폭 연루설' 첫 보도에 사과한 것을 두고 SBS 노조가 '언론독립 침해'라며 반발했다는 내용을 공유하며 이같이 적었습니다.

이어 "정론직필의 책임을 외면한 채 정치적 목적으로 사실을 왜곡하고 거짓을 유포한다면, 그 악영향에 비춰 언론은 일반인보다 더 큰 책임을 지는 것이 타당하다"고 강조했습니다.

연합뉴스TV 기사문의 및 제보 : 카톡/라인 jebo23

소재형(sojay@yna.co.kr)

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'Unanswered Questions' apologizes for alleging ties between President Lee, organized crime

Lee Yoon-seo Published : March 22, 2026 - 14:11:25 The Korea Herald

TV program's apology following president’s criticism sparks internal backlash

President Lee Jae Myung (Yonhap)

SBS, one of South Korea's major broadcasters, issued an apology for allegations it raised linking President Lee Jae Myung to a criminal organization, after the president publicly called on the network to answer for its reporting.

The program at the center of the controversy, "Unanswered Questions," is among South Korea's most enduring and widely watched investigative journalism series, with a 34-year track record of probing unsolved crimes and social injustices.

In July 2018, the show aired an episode titled "Power and Gangs — One Year After the Pattaya Murder Case," (translated) which stated that President Lee — then serving as governor of Gyeonggi Province — had been listed as defense counsel for two members of the Seongnam-based international organized crime syndicate in 2007. Lee entered formal politics in 2010 when he was elected mayor of Seongnam. The episode then raised questions about ties between local politicians and organized crime.

President Lee, who assumed office in 2025, addressed the matter directly on his X account on Friday. "I wonder whether 'Unanswered Questions,' which created the allegations linking Lee Jae Myung to organized crime, will readily issue a follow-up report, and if so, what it will contain," he wrote. "I may be asking too much, but I would like to hear a sincere word of apology."

Hours later, the producers of "Unanswered Questions," including the production staff and main producer of the 2018 episode, released a statement acknowledging that they had aired allegations against President Lee without sufficient evidence in the 2018 episode.

The production team cited legal proceedings that followed the episode's airing: President Lee (then governor of Gyeonggi Province) had been referred to prosecutors, and the Seongnam branch office, which received the case, decided not to indict him in December 2018.

The statement also noted that the Supreme Court finalized a one-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, for attorney Jang Young-ha for spreading false information. Ahead of the 2021 presidential election, Jang had alleged that Lee had received money from the Seongnam-based crime syndicate.

The production added that "Therefore, the allegations of ties between then-Gyeonggi Province governor Lee Jae Myung and the Seongnam-based international organized crime syndicate have been legally determined to be unfounded."

The apology, however, drew swift backlash from within the broadcaster itself.

The SBS chapter of the National Union of Media Workers posted a sharply worded statement the same evening, stressing that "'Unanswered Questions' did not simply cite Jang's claims. Rather, (the show) verified and reported information that had emerged three years earlier in the course of covering the Pattaya murder case, including interviews with the victim and court records."

The Pattaya murder case, involving the murder case of a South Korean in Thailand in 2015, was found to be connected to a Seongnam-based international crime syndicate that President Lee had once defended.

"These allegations had already been raised in other media reports before the broadcast, and the program's role was to bring them into public discourse and examine them. This falls within the media's fundamental function of scrutinizing public figures and is entirely unrelated to Jang's claims in both timing and substance," the statement added.

The union defended "Unanswered Questions" and its legacy, concluding with a direct rebuke of the president's conduct.

"President Lee must stop making remarks that muzzle press freedom and refrain from infringing on media independence through pressure such as demands for an apology," the statement said.

yoonseo.3348@heraldcorp.com

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