"PD Diary" allotted 14 minutes of airtime reporting on the woman who died earlier this year, and carried an interview of her mother saying her daughter may have died from "CJD" (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). The news program carried a translated subtitle of the mother's comments, which misquoted her as saying the probable cause of her daughter's death was "vCJD". VCJD is a disease caused by eating beef from cattle infected by mad cow disease, while CJD is a disease that has nothing to do with cows. "PD Diary" portrayed a person who died of an illness completely unrelated to eating beef as having perished for just that reason.

Was this due to the ignorance of the "PD Diary" staff, or was it an intentional manipulation aimed at inciting public fears? Judging by how MBC has refused to apologize and issue a correction regarding numerous references to the mistranslation, there's a strong possibility that the broadcaster intended to incite public fears. After the CDC announcement was reported on Tuesday, "PD Diary" is dragging its feet, saying it would report on it if the announcement was a final conclusion, but the dead woman's parents still haven't been notified of the final results.

The story about the Virginia woman and the images of "downer" cows broadcast on "PD Diary" played a decisive role in prompting Korean teenagers to come out into the streets, consumed by fears that they might die after being infected with the human form of mad cow disease. It's been some time since the truth has been revealed that downer cow symptoms are not necessarily due to mad cow disease. In other words, the key points made by "PD Diary" had been falsely manipulated. The Press Arbitration Commission ruled on May 20 that the news program should broadcast a rebuttal issued by the government, but the broadcaster has rejected that ruling.

That is not the only inflammatory and violent broadcast regarding U.S. beef. On May 15, the 9 p.m. edition of KBS News reported that at certain U.S. slaughterhouses, beef from American cattle younger than 30 months can come into contact with beef from older cattle during the refrigeration process. But the skin surface of slaughtered cattle is not specified risk material, so there is no chance of mad cow disease spreading that way. MBC "News Desk" reported on May 30 that it is difficult to verify through tissue tests whether the distal ileum, an SRM, has been removed or not from slaughtered cattle. But an official at the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service of Korea explained that a comprehensive decision is made after the density of the "Peyer's patch" at the end of the small intestine is verified through tissue tests and a defrosting test on the intestines is conducted to determine whether the distal ileum had been included or not. MBC ignored this and tailored their report to fit the message they wanted to deliver. It was a clear example of how a major broadcaster is arrogant enough to believe it can use images to manipulate the direction of its program since the Korean public is ignorant.

When teenagers flooded into downtown Seoul after watching these intentionally manipulated broadcasts, the anchor of MBC "News Desk" said on May 6 that students were converging to criticize the government and that it has been some time since students this age have come out. An MBC entertainment program broadcast on May 14 invited a singer who criticized the government by wearing a t-shirt saying mice were getting fat while the people were starving. Following that program, many viewers pointed out that the "mouse" was an insulting reference to President Lee Myung-bak commonly used by demonstrators at the anti-beef candlelight vigils.

During the impeachment proceedings back in the Roh Moo-hyun administration, public broadcasters were cited by the Korean Society for Journalism and Communication Studies for airing programs that were biased and destroyed the rules of fairness and objectivity. They are now in a frenzy to lead efforts to topple the legitimate government.