When Kim Ou-joon said on the 5th on a YouTube broadcast that "there was no countermeasure meeting related to the Middle East situation during the president's trip," the Office of the Prime Minister issued materials rebutting that this was not true.
In an explanatory release sent to the press corps that day, the Office of the Prime Minister said, "From immediately after the Middle East situation erupted, the government held a daily afternoon meeting of related Ministers for emergency checks." It added, "On the 3rd, we held a Cabinet meeting to intensively review and discuss the status and plans of responses related to the Middle East situation, and on the same day we also convened a meeting of heads of overseas missions."
The Office of the Prime Minister said, "We ask each media outlet to keep in mind that reporting inconsistent with the facts about government activities causes misunderstanding and confusion among the public, and to report based on the national interest and facts."
Earlier, Kim, on his YouTube broadcast, noted the decline in stock and other asset prices after the Middle East crisis and said, "There is not even a swiftly responding Cabinet meeting during the president's trip," adding, "Since there is no opportunity to be reassured through meetings, the absence of a leader would have further amplified anxiety."
Kim went on to say, "There are no countermeasure meetings because the president is on an overseas junket now," and, "So what are we supposed to do? There's no news, and I'm anxious all day."