By Min Yea-Ji and Lee Jihae

Cheong Wa Dae on Sept. 5 denied a report by Japanese broadcast network NHK on how the Korean government decided to scrap the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan.

Yoon Do Han, senior presidential secretary for public communication, in a written statement called the NHK report "groundless" and said the Korean ambassador to Japan visited the network to complain.

NHK on Aug. 27 reported that four members of Korea's National Security Council (NSC) had voted to extend GSOMIA and three to scrap it, with President Moon Jae-in making the final decision. A Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson in a briefing called the report "completely false" and "not in line with the actual meeting process of the NSC."

On Sept. 3, the Korean ambassador to Japan, the minister counselor and an official for cultural promotion from the Korean Embassy in Tokyo visited NHK headquarters to complain about the report.

Yoon said the three figures told NHK, "The groundless NHK report has been continually quoted by domestic (Korean) media and caused misunderstanding between Korea and Japan."

The officials also asked NHK to explain how the report was made and to prevent a recurrence of misreporting. The network shared the Korean government's complaints with its staff and executive board and pledged to check facts more thoroughly in reporting, Cheong Wa Dae said.

Yoon also requested that Korean media conduct reporting based on thorough fact-checking.

***