President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Monday released a statement over mounting calls for presidential aide Hwang Sang-moo to step down after his controversial remarks about press freedom were disclosed by a media outlet.
The presidential office said in a statement that it "respects press freedom" and the responsibilities that come with that freedom.
Yoon's office also denied that it has ever attempted to suppress the media's freedom of expression.
"The presidential office has never used, or will ever use, any coercive power or pressure against a media professional with regards to current affairs," it said in a statement.
"Our administration, unlike past administrations, has never mobilized intelligence agencies to inspect journalists or ordered the National Tax Service to conduct tax inspections on media companies," it read. "We do not intend to do so, and are not capable of doing so."
In response, six associations representing journalists in South Korea slammed the presidential office for failing to address the problem, demanding that Yoon sack Hwang.
The statement came after Hwang, the senior presidential secretary for civil society, sparked fury with his remarks about the media. Hwang had brought up the case of a journalist who, in 1988, was attacked, severely beaten and stabbed, after having been critical of the military, during the presidency of former Army Gen. Roh Tae-woo, according to an MBC report last Thursday. The attack's perpetrators were found to be following the orders of the then-commander of an Army intelligence unit.
The report, which was based on reporters' private conversation with Hwang, also indicated he viewed that journalists criticizing the Yoon government could face physical retaliation and that the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising may have been instigated by an "external force," an apparent reference to North Korea.
Hwang is reported to have turned his attention specifically to an MBC reporter before referencing the 1988 attack on the journalist, saying, "Listen carefully, MBC," though he later said it was "a joke."
Yoon Chang-hyun, who leads the National Union of Media Workers, said in a press conference held near Yoon's office that both the presidential office and Hwang "equally share the problematic view contained in Secretary Hwang's remarks."
Hwang apologized for the remarks Saturday, but criticism from both the ruling and the opposition bloc persisted.
Han Dong-hoon, interim leader of the ruling People Power Party, said Sunday he had "already said (Hwang's comments) are inappropriate" and that the comments "do not meet the people's expectations."
Kim Eun-hye, who represents the Bundang Eul constituency in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, also called on Hwang to resign. Kim was previously Yoon's senior secretary for public relations.
MBC's reporters on Friday demanded Hwang apologize publicly and immediately step down. Rep. Ko Min-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea also urged the presidential office to sack Hwang on Friday.
