언론보도.윤석열. fuckers or idiots 외신이 윤 대통령의 비속어를 'idiot'로 보도한 까닭은?

 

 

 

 

South Korean president caught swearing on hot mic after talk with Joe Biden – video

0:18

Yoon Suk-yeol was caught swearing after a chat with Joe Biden on the sidelines of the UN general assembly that reportedly lasted less than a minute. Speaking as he left an event in New York, Yoon was caught by a 'hot' microphone, saying to aides:

 

'How could Biden not lose face if these fuckers do not pass it in Congress?'

 

This was apparently in reference to Biden’s push to increase the US contribution to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which would require congressional approval

 

 

 

Hot mic catches South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol swearing about US lawmakers

By Heather Chen, Yoonjung Seo and Gawon Bae, CNN

Updated 3:20 AM EDT, Fri September 23, 2022

 

A criticism used on US lawmakers by the President of South Korea has gone viral on social media – after a hot mic picked him up using an expletive.

 

Yoon Suk Yeol appears to have made the remark after meeting US President Joe Biden at a conference for the Global Fund in New York on Wednesday.

 

In a video published by South Korean television broadcaster MBC on its official YouTube channel on Thursday, Yoon can be seen walking along the stage after chatting with Biden before turning to his aides and speaking.

 

“It would be so embarrassing for Biden if those f***ers at the National Assembly don’t approve this [bill],” he then appears to say.

 

The Global Fund is an international organization trying to defeat HIV, TB and malaria across the developing world and Yoon’s remark appears to be a reference to Biden’s pledge to contribute $6 billion, which would require Congress approval.

 

The YouTube clip – which has not yet been taken down – has been viewed more than four million times since it was uploaded and drawn tens of thousands of comments.

 

Many social media users have taken to mocking Yoon, while the expletive he used has become a popular search term on the South Korean online portal Naver.

 

This is just the latest in what critics say is series of diplomatic miss-steps by Yoon, who arrived in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly after attending the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II in London.

 

While in London, Yoon’s opponents accused him of disrespect because he missed the chance to view the queen’s coffin lying in state – which he blamed on heavy traffic.

 

Last month, he came under fire for failing to meet US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she visited South Korea as part of a tour of Asia.

 

 

 

Following what appears to be his latest foreign policy gaffe, Yoon’s team have gone on the defensive.

 

In a background briefing with reporters, a high-ranked official for the South Korean Presidential Office said the remark was “a private comment” and it was “inappropriate to connect a private comment to a diplomatic outcome.”

 

The official also said that “it was regrettable” Yoon was being criticized while keeping up with “a tough schedule for the benefit of national interest.”

 

“There’s no reason for him to speak about the US here,” Kim Eun-hye, Yoon’s senior press secretary, said in a separate briefing, reiterating that many people appeared to have “misheard” his words.

 

Back in Seoul, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo addressed the issue at a National Assembly session on Thursday, saying it was “unclear” what Yoon had actually said.

 

“I don’t think I can make a clear conclusion here about the circumstances in which he said those words… but it seems that no one has clearly heard the content,” Han said.

 

His remarks were not lost on members of the opposition liberal party who commented on the issue at Thursday’s National Assembly.

 

“Diplomatic disasters are recurring under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and this is due to the repeated diplomatic incompetence of the President,” they said.

 

 

尹 대통령 '유엔 데뷔'
외신이 윤 대통령의 비속어를 'idiot'로 보도한 까닭은?
입력 2022.09.23 13:40 

 
 31  6
미국 한인 매체 '애틀랜타K' 이상연 대표
"AFP통신·폭스뉴스 F****** 욕설로 표현"
"'idiot'으로 번역한 블룸버그·WP의
기사 작성자는 모두 한인 동포"


윤석열 대통령과 조 바이든 미국 대통령이 21일(현지시간) 미국 뉴욕 한 빌딩에서 열린 글로벌 펀드 제7차 재정공약회의를 마친 뒤 대화를 나누고 있다. 뉴욕=연합뉴스

윤석열 대통령의 비속어 발언이 여러 외신에도 보도된 가운데 매체에 따라 표현의 차이도 보였다. 주요 언론 중에서도 욕설의 의미가 강한 'f******'로 번역한 매체도 있었지만, 이보다는 상대적으로 수위가 낮은 'idiot(바보)'으로 번역했던 기자는 한국 동포라는 얘기가 나왔다.

미국 애틀란타의 한인매체 '애틀랜타K'의 이상연 대표는 23일 MBC라디오 '김종배의 시선집중'에서 "환담을 나눈 뒤 마이크가 켜진 줄 모르고 미국 의회를 비하하는 욕설과 비속어를 사용했다는 보도가 나왔다"며 "통신사인 AFP와 블룸버그가 가장 먼저 보도했고, 워싱턴포스트 폭스뉴스 CBS 뉴스 등이 이를 인용해 연이어 보도했다"고 전했다.

그는 윤 대통령이 사용한 '이 XX' 비속어를 "AFP통신과 폭스뉴스는 미국에서도 가장 심한 욕설을 뜻하는 F로 시작하는 영어로 번역했고, 블룸버그 통신과 워싱턴포스트는 바보를 뜻하는 단어인 '이디엇(idiot)'이라는 단어로 번역했다"며 "현지에서는 욕설의 의미가 더 강하기 때문에 AFP통신의 번역이 더 정확하지 않나 하는 얘기가 나오고, 흥미롭게도 이디엇이라고 번역한 기사는 모두 미국에 있는 한인 동포 기자들이 작성한 것"이라고 말했다. 

 

그러면서 "(이디엇이라고 번역한 기사 작성자가 한인 동포 기자여서) 온정적인 번역이 아니었나"라고 덧붙였다.

이어 욕설을 한 대상에 대해서도 "AFP와 워싱턴포스트는 '글로벌 보건기금을 내놓고 미국 의회 협조 구하겠다'고 한 바이든 대통령의 약속에 대한 말이었다고 보도했지만, 블룸버그는 '윤 대통령이 환담 도중 바이든 대통령에게 인플레이션 감축법(IRA) 법안 유예를 요청한 뒤 비속어 발언을 했다'고 보도하며 두 사건의 연관성을 강조했다"고 미묘한 차이를 설명했다.

대통령실이 뒤늦게 비속어 발언의 대상이 미 의회가 아니라 대한민국 국회를 향한 것이었다는 취지의 해명을 한 것이 미국에 전해졌느냐는 진행자의 질문에는 "워싱턴포스트라든지 폭스뉴스 같은 경우는 한국의 대통령실 해명이 나온 다음에 작성된 기사로 보인다"며 전혀 반영하지 않았다고 답했다.

그는 "(비속어) 동영상을 보신 국민들은 다 아실 테고, 미국 주요 언론사에도 한인 기자들이 다 있다"며 "이 같은 해명을 믿어줄 리가 없다"고 했다. 또 "한 미주한인커뮤니티 사이트에는 '워터게이트는 사건도 문제였지만 이를 덮기 위한 거짓말이 더 문제였다'는 글이 올라왔다"며 "의미심장하게 받아들여야 될 글이 아닌가 싶다"고 했다.

미국 주요 언론이 한미 정상회담을 보도하지 않은 점에 대해서는 "양국 정상회담으로 보지 않았다는 것 같고, 무엇보다 만남 내용에도 보도할 만한 내용이 없었다"며 "주요한 현안이 있지 않은 경우 미국 주요 언론이 양국 정상 간의 회담을 주요 뉴스로 보도하는 경우는 드물다"고 말했다. 그 예로 "어제도 바이든 대통령과 트러스 영국 총리가 회담을 가졌지만 주요 뉴스로 다뤄지지 않았다"는 점도 언급했다.

백악관 배포자료에 IRA 관련 언급이 빠진 점에 대해서는 "백악관이 IRA에 대해 한국 대통령과 무슨 약속을 할 수도 없는 입장(이었을 것)"이라고 했다. 그는 "(한국 정부와 윤 대통령이) IRA 유예나 수정을 요청했어도 행정부의 수장인 (바이든) 대통령이 이를 받아들여 독단적으로 처리하기 힘든 것이 미국의 시스템"이라며 "연방의회 상하원을 모두 통과했고, 대통령이 이미 공포해서 발의된 법안이라 수정이나 유예를 하려면 별도의 입법이나 의회의 동의가 있어야 한다"고 했다.

박민식 기자 bemyself@hankookilbo.com