President Lee Jae-myung demanded that the news outlet that won the Korea Press Award three years ago for its reporting on allegations related to Daejang-dong cancel the award and issue a correction. In response, People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jong-bae said, "Isn't this a guideline sent to cancel the indictment?"
In a post on his Facebook page on the 25th, Lee said, "On the 24th, President Lee Jae-myung is threatening DONG-A ILBO, which won the Korea Press Award for its reporting on the 'Daejang-dong development allegations,' by demanding the cancellation of the award and a correction," adding, "Isn't this the president's guideline urging the Democratic Party of Korea to press for cancellation of the indictment through a parliamentary investigation?"
He went on to note, "President Lee Jae-myung claims that 'in fact, it wasn't fact-finding but an enormous fabrication,' but the Daejang-dong development is the largest corruption case since the founding of the nation, in which Kim Man-bae and the Daejang-dong group pocketed 780 billion won in criminal proceeds, and the courts have recognized this in their rulings."
Lee criticized, "It is the media's natural duty to monitor and criticize the corruption of power, and it is one of the important pillars that support liberal democracy," adding, "For the president to call a case in which he is implicated a fabrication and to tell a news outlet to run a correction and cancel its award is the oppressive abuse of power typical of a dictator, and a grave matter that undermines democracy."