President Lee Jae-myung said on the 18th, "While it is important for the media to play a role in monitoring and checking the government, intentional distortion and false information must be promptly corrected, and accountability must be enforced accordingly." He reiterated the need for stronger accountability against intentional distortions and false reports, as they cause confusion among the public.
On this day, President Lee revealed this during a Cabinet meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office, after receiving a report on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's plan to enhance government publicity.
According to Spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin reported during the Cabinet meeting that in Canada and the United Kingdom, 65% of government advertising has been digitalized, such as through online platform ads, and that a third-party organization is transparently verifying this. He particularly noted, "It seems there are strict crackdowns on false or fabricated news."
In response, President Lee evaluated it as "good report content," emphasizing that "false and fabricated news is an issue that must be resolved regardless of changes in platforms or media trends." He added, "If it is intentional distortion or false information, it must be promptly corrected, but accountability must be enforced for intentional acts."
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, President Lee instructed at a Cabinet meeting on June 19, "The Ministry of Justice should look into how to deal with YouTubers spreading fake news for profit," stating, "If criminal penalties are imposed, there could be issues concerning the abuse of prosecutorial power, so the best option is punitive damages."
The comments made on this day are interpreted as a reiteration of the need for a strong response to eradicate the repeated harm caused by the spread of false information through YouTube channels and online portal comments.
However, Spokesperson Kang noted that he did not directly mention the media arbitration law amendment being promoted by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. The amendment proposed by the Democratic Party allows courts to order compensation for false reports, commonly referred to as "fake news," amounting to three times the damages, and provides for corrections to be reported in the same space and volume as the original misinformation.
President Lee also stated, "The evaluation criteria for the publicity performance of government departments should be re-examined," urging, "Please check and report on the self-promotion methods and operational realities of each department."
He further emphasized, "It is important to accurately explain government policies to the public and make the effects of those policies tangible," directing Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-ho to ensure that in cases of sensitive core issues, a public disclosure process must be followed, and that it is not rushed.
On this day, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reported the government publicity enhancement plan, which includes ▲ a major shift towards digital-centered government publicity through the activation of social media by ministries and heads of departments, and an innovation in the government-wide publicity support system ▲ efforts to promote publicity targeting digitally disadvantaged groups to address gaps in government publicity.