President stops taking questions from reporters on way to office

President Yoon Suk-yeol answers questions from reporters after he arrives at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Yoon Suk-yeol will no longer take questions from reporters on his way to the office, ending the impromptu Q&A sessions that the president has held 61 times since his inauguration on May 10, his office said on Monday.

In a text message to reporters, the presidential office said the Q&A sessions, also referred to as "door-stepping" and initiated by Yoon to become more accessible to the public, will no longer be held starting Monday, and that they will not resume unless there are measures to prevent the recurrence of "unfortunate incidents" like what happened recently.

"Door-stepping was introduced to facilitate open communication with the public," it said. "We will consider resuming the sessions when there are measures to fulfill that cause."

The reaction came days after the presidential office was directly confronted by an MBC reporter on Friday.

When asked about the presidential office's decision to ban MBC reporters from boarding the presidential jet during Yoon's trips to Cambodia and Indonesia, Yoon made a case for the decision, suggesting that the broadcaster had harmed national interests by airing "fake news" with "malicious intent" when it reported about the president's use of profanity being caught on camera during his trip to New York in September.

As Yoon walked away from the reporters after that comment, an MBC reporter at the scene then immediately asked back, "What did MBC do maliciously? What was malicious?"

An argument then ensued as the reporter confronted the presidential secretary for public relations planning about analysis data that the presidential office had requested from a voice expert, which it has not released. The secretary told the reporter to behave.

Then-president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol announces his plan to relocate the presidential office during a press conference in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, March 20. Newsis

The door-stepping sessions have come to an end after 61 sessions since Yoon first answered reporters' questions on May 11, the day after he took office.

The sessions have been one of the Yoon administration's signature features. Depending on the day, Yoon would take one to three questions from journalists and answer them.

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During a press conference to mark his 100th day in office in August, Yoon said, "There are opinions that the Q&A sessions only aggravate my job approval ratings, but the door-stepping is the most important reason I moved the presidential office to Yongsan." One of Yoon's election promises had been to relocate the presidential office to Yongsan District, Seoul, from Cheong Wa Dae in Jongno District.

A day before the presidential office announced the suspension of the impromptu Q&A sessions, a wooden wall was set up in the lobby area where the sessions have been held. The wall was set up between the off-limits space and the areas open to reporters. Thus, it has become impossible for reporters to observe when Yoon is entering the office or receiving guests.

The wall had a small entrance that appeared to allow reporters to enter inside the door-stepping area on Sunday, but the entrance was then blocked on Monday as the office said it would suspend the impromptu Q&A sessions.

Also on Monday, presidential secretary for public engagement Kim Young-tae offered to resign, expressing his "responsibility as a secretary in charge of managing the door-stepping area" over Friday's incident. Kim was in charge of handling the press room in the presidential office and the office's communication process with journalists.

Along with the events, the presidential office is considering imposing punitive measures on the MBC reporter.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) also blamed MBC.

"We understand that the decision was inevitable," PPP spokesperson Rep. Park Jeong-ha said.

"At the center of this stir is MBC, which is a public broadcaster but has not apologized at all despite stirring up all these controversies," he said.

PPP Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon wrote on Facebook that the presidential office's decision was "inevitable" due to "a malicious rampage by some substandard media."

On the other hand, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) denounced the presidential office's decision, questioning Yoon's perspective of the press.

"Is it an 'unfortunate incident' to ask the president uncomfortable questions?" DPK spokesperson Rep. An Ho-young said. "This is such an authoritarian idea and a small-minded response. … President Yoon is setting up a wall to block communication with the public. Although his distorted perspective of the press may be hidden behind the wall, it will be more difficult to communicate with the public."

DPK Rep. Park Yong-jin also wrote on Facebook that Yoon has set up "a wall of arrogance, a wall of enmity and a wall of pettiness," and that he is "worse than former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is known for his wars of words with the press."