The Citizens’ Coalition for Democratic Media (CCDM) demanded the immediate cessation of the Democratic Party, journalists’ unions, and MBC’s anti-democratic investigations and pressure in connection with the illegal leakage of information related to a complaint to the Korea Communications Standards Commission.
In a statement released today (19th), CCDM pointed out that if the investigation into a crime is demanded to stop, it constitutes interference in the investigation and abuse of legislative power.
Earlier on the 10th, when the police raided the journalists’ union branch of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission on suspicion of ‘illegally leaking information related to complainants,’ around 10 Democratic Party members of the National Assembly’s Communications Committee immediately held a press conference demanding the police to stop the investigation into the identification of public interest informants.
Furthermore, the Democratic Party convened a meeting of the Communications Committee on the 13th and unilaterally resolved a plan to hold a hearing on the “alleged suppression of informants and public interest reporters by the head of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission” on the 30th, applying to call in around 30 witnesses.
CCDM criticized the act of calling police officials supervising the investigating police on an ongoing case as clear pressure, and indiscriminately calling in officials from public institutions such as the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and the National Human Rights Commission as irresponsible behavior driven by strategic interests, even if it means halting the administrative work of these agencies.
CCDM also stressed the need for strict punishment in the ‘illegal surveillance case of complainants by the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’ where personal information, including complainants’ relationships and workplace addresses, was uncovered.