Prosecutors say MBC's U.S. Beef Report Was Distorted

SOUTH KOREA - Prosecutors said Tuesday that a hard-hitting MBC report on U.S. beef distorted facts to exaggerate the risks of mad cow disease, increasing pressure on the major broadcaster to turn in unedited footage of the report.

30 July 2008

1 minute read

Asia

MBC has refused to present the original material of the controversial April broadcast, criticizing the prosecution for censoring the media to pander to the conservative Lee Myung-bak government.

"Based on our multifaceted investigation, we've found that MBC PD Notepad's report on mad cow disease was mostly distorted and edited in a way that changed facts," Im Soo-bin, a senior prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office criminal division, told reporters.

MBC immediately rebuked the prosecution's findings, questioning their reliability.

The probe started in June after the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries argued that MBC's popular current affairs program intentionally stretched facts related to U.S. beef.

Source: Yonhap news