I have read the article entitled “Turkey’s Erdogan fought hard, won unfairly,” which was published in The Korea Herald on June 28, with deep disappointment and regret.

The article authored by columnist Leonid Bershidsky is a clear demonstration of a hostile campaign and hatred toward President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in connection with the recently held presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey. It is unfortunately perceived as a direct insult toward Turkey and the Turkish people in the persona of our president. The claims set forth by the author on political and economic decisions taken by the Turkish government are based on the distorted facts and incessant hostile propaganda of the known circles in the West.

The fact that the voter turnout in the June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections was recorded as 88 percent is a milestone for universal democratic criteria. Against the aggressive assertions of the columnist, the record high turnout in the elections has indeed been a democracy lesson to the world. What is more unfortunate is the publication of such an extremely biased and ideologically motivated article in your esteemed newspaper, which is claimed to be reputable and objective.

There is no doubt that the elections were held in a fair and transparent manner, considering that aside from the observers of the opposition parties and nongovernmental organizations, independent foreign observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Turkic Council, the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking Countries, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation have closely monitored the election process thoroughly. The reports published by those international organizations with regard to the conduct of the elections have clearly demonstrated how punctured the biased and hateful commentaries and criticism originating from certain Western circles towards our president and the government are.

I would like to express my deep regret and disappointment for publishing such an extremely biased article that directly targets our head of state in your newspaper. It is particularly saddening to witness such an unfriendly approach pursued by a newspaper that is published in a country we consider as a friend and brother.


From H.E. Ersin Ercin
Turkish Ambassador to South Korea