S Korea leader criticized for banning broadcaster from plane

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Journalist organizations say South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attacked press freedoms when his office banned a TV broadcaster’s crew from the media pool traveling on his presidential plane this week for alleged bias in reporting. Yoon earlier accused MBC of damaging the country’s alliance with the United States after it released a video suggesting that he insulted U.S. Congress members. Yoon’s office told MBC it wouldn’t provide the broadcaster with “reporting assistance” in the president’s upcoming trips to Cambodia and Indonesia for meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Group of 20 leading rich and developing countries. The ban excludes MBC from in-flight briefings and other media opportunities.