President Lee Jae-myung raised questions about the allegations of 'editing the minister's inaugural speech' in the Ministry of National Defense's newspaper Defense Daily on the 29th, saying, 'You must maintain discipline.' The Ministry of National Defense allegedly edited the report on the inaugural speech of the newly appointed Minister Ahn Gyu-baek to intentionally exclude content related to the 'Emergency Martial Law of Dec. 3.' The ruling party is paying attention to the fact that the publisher of Defense Daily is under audit by the Ministry of National Defense for political bias.
President Lee said during a Cabinet meeting held at the Presidential Office in Yongsan that '(Defense Daily) edited the inaugural speech of the Defense Minister to completely remove mentions of insurrection. This matter is serious.' Defense Daily reported Ahn's inaugural remarks on the front page of its edition from the 28th under the headline 'Striving to nurture a trusted advanced military,' but it is suspected that they omitted the part where Minister Ahn emphasized 'the eradication of insurrection.'
Minister Ahn attended the Cabinet meeting for the first time that day and said, 'I think that different perspectives lead to different destinations,' adding, 'I will firmly seize the reins and definitely lead our military's reform.' He also stated, 'The military's morale is scattered due to the illegal martial law of Dec. 3,' and said, 'I will pour all my efforts into correcting the military's morale and rebuilding it as the people's military.'
Currently, Chae Il, the publisher of Defense Daily, is undergoing an internal audit for the alleged 'abuse of editorial authority.' He was appointed as the Director of Defense Promotion Agency in May 2023 and had previously worked in the campaign of former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Earlier, Minister Ahn stated in his inaugural speech that 'the Emergency Martial Law of Dec. 3 undermined the reason for the existence of our military and tarnished public trust and the honor of military uniforms,' and asserted, 'We must sever ties with the past that was consumed as a tool of emergency martial law.' Even during his first day at work shortly after being nominated as the minister, he emphasized the need for strict punishment for those involved in the emergency martial law, stating, 'According to the principle of merit and punishment, those who have done well should be rewarded, and those who have acted wrongly should face consequences.'