Did Sankei cross the line? Japanese media draws fire for sensational report on President Park By Kang Hyun-kyung The conservative Japanese Sankei Shimbun newspaper drew a barrage of criticism this week for publishing a controversial report on President Park Geun-hye's whereabouts when the Sewol ferry sank in the sea off the southern island of Jindo. The prosecution has summoned Tatsuya Kato, the Seoul bureau chief of the Japanese newspaper, to go to the Seoul Prosecution's Office Tuesday and answer questions regarding the article which alleged that President Park was with an unidentified man when the maritime disaster occurred. In turn, Korea imposed a travel ban on the 48-year-old Japanese journalist. The prosecution's announcement came shortly after a civic group filed a suit against the Japanese media for insulting the Korean head of state with baseless allegations. In an online article posted on the website of the newspaper last week, Kato reported that President Park, who is single, was away from the presidential office with the man while the ferry was sinking on April 16. The Japanese journalist claimed this was the reason why President Park was out of contact for seven hours on that tragic day. In the article headlined "Who did President Park meet when the Sewol ferry was sinking?," Kato quoted a report from local daily Chosun Ilbo on Park's 7-hour absence and rumors published in a newsletter circulated among financial analysts. By objective standards, the report in the Sankei report failed to meet journalistic standards because it quoted questionable sources to produce a speculative story. However, such selection and aggregation of information from questionable sources is commonly practiced in online media around the world.  Chosun Ilbo raised suspicions over Park's whereabouts on the day, but it stopped short of speculating why she remained out of contact at that time. But the newsletter circulated among stock market insiders alleged that Park met someone outside the presidential office.  The report is read by stock traders. It is produced regularly and contains unconfirmed stories based on rumors provided by anonymous sources. Politicians, meanwhile, slammed the Japanese media for crossing the line and publishing such a groundless and sensational story on the Korean president. Rep. An Min-suk of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) urged the government to take immediate measures against the conservative Japanese media outlet for the "malicious" report on the Korean president. "What if a South Korean media outlet ran a similarly insulting story on Japanese Prime Minister or other leaders? How would Japan react to it? Would their reactions be any different than Korea's?" he asked Hwang Woo-yea, the nominee for education minister, during a confirmation hearing on Thursday. The Japanese media report infuriated the presidential office. Yoon Doo-hyun, a senior presidential secretary on public relations, said the presidential office would seek justice following publication of the article. "The Japanese journalist wrote an embarrassing and baseless story. We couldn't even mention it because it is sick to do so," he told reporters Thursday. "The Japanese media may be able to see an increase in subscriptions (due to such a sensational story). We take this baseless claim seriously and will take all possible measures to correct such a practice."  The Sankei newspaper is also at the center of criticism for running a series of articles denying the Japanese government's direct involvement in wartime sexual slavery. Some are questioning the motives of the Sankei's editorial team. The story was only published online however and did not make the hard copy edition. They claimed that the conservative Japanese media may be attempting to damage President Park's image by running a series of scathing stories on her as well as attempting to shape perceptions of historical events. Katsuhiro Kuroda, former Seoul bureau chief of Sankei newspaper and now an adjunct columnist, defended his colleague Kato, alleging that Korean journalists are using double standards when criticizing the Sankei report. "Kato's article is not an investigative report. The entire story was based on a local media report and anonymous sources. For this reason, I am wondering what is so wrong about Kato's article," Kuroda said. However, Kuroda, who has been living in Seoul for over 40 years, said if it were him, he would have been very cautious to work on such a sensitive article because he is very familiar with Korean culture. "My colleague has been in Seoul for three years as bureau chief. So he is not quite familiar with Korean culture yet," he said.