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President Yoon Suk-yeol grins while being introduced at a policy goal review meeting at the Blue House guesthouse on Dec. 15. (presidential office pool photo)

The South Korean presidential office blasted the YTN network for its actions on Thursday when it produced and aired footage showing preparations for a policy goal review meeting attended by President Yoon Suk-yeol.

“In order to disparage an occasion where the president and Cabinet ministers explained in detail to the public about the direction of their policies, YTN improperly used test footage, which it maliciously edited to make it appear like a pre-orchestrated event,” the office said.

In a briefing Monday, office deputy spokesperson Lee Jae-myoung said this was the “position of the presidential office with regard to the YTN video situation.”

“When a live broadcast event lasts for over two-and-a-half hours, you’re obviously going to need some technical review beforehand, including adjustments to the sequence,” he explained.

“The president does not take part in rehearsals,” he added.

Lee also said, “The anticipated response from the president that appeared in the technical review was an obvious statement. That’s because it accurately reflects the president’s philosophy.”

On Friday, YTN presented and aired an exclusive video showing scenes of prior preparations for the review meeting the day before. It later deleted the clip.

The presidential office said that at the time the preparation footage was taken, the networks promised not to use it for reporting, explaining that YTN had broken that promise and aired the footage as if it were a “rehearsal” video.

Lee said the network’s actions showed “utter disregard for the principles, pledges and practices that news outlets have upheld in the past.”

“We are profoundly dismayed, and before demanding that corresponding legal and moral responsibility is taken, we hope that those with responsibility for issuing directions in this situation act responsibly in a way that accords with journalistic ethics,” he said.

In an official statement, YTN said, “Shortly after the airing of the video ‘Dialogue with Some Members of the Public’ on the 16th, we confirmed that the content in question had been produced as footage that could not be used per the internal guidelines of the Korea Pool, which is the coverage pool for major networks, and we immediately deleted it.”

“Accordingly, we wish to state that those who illegally post and distribute the deleted content may be subject to legal measures based on copyright law and other relevant laws,” it added.

The network also said, “We wish to express our deep regret to the viewers and to the presidential office and other relevant institutions for causing confusion with this, and we intend to review our footage usage system and institute measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring through internal procedures, including those of our broadcast incident countermeasure committee.”

By Bae Ji-hyun, staff reporter

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