A state-run committee recently issued a warning against broadcaster SBS after a panelist on one of its shows referred to first lady Kim Keon Hee without an honorific, a decision that sparked a dispute about the freedom of the press across the country.

The South Korean Committee on Election Broadcasting, organized and operated by the Korea Communications Standards Commission, held a meeting last week and decided to issue a warning against the local TV broadcaster's daily "Newsbriefing." It took issue with the fact that panelist Rep. Kim Young-bae of the main opposition Democratic Party, mentioned the "Kim Keon Hee investigation" without using the honorific.

The members of the committee considered issuing a complaint that also claimed that Rep. Kim was overly critical of President Yoon Suk Yeol, calling his administration a "tyranny." The commission oversees media broadcasts before and during major elections -- the parliamentary elections in April in this case -- to ensure that politically biased content is not aired.

Members were divided about the lawmaker's wording on the first lady. One of the members said that the term "Kim Keon Hee investigation" is already being used widely throughout society, while another pointed out that Rep. Kim's comments were about the investigation, not about the person.

But others said that addressing the first lady should be accompanied by honorifics such as "ssi" or "yeosa," the former being a neutral honorific for people of any gender and the latter being one used for married women of high social status. The committee decided to issue the warning with the approval of five of the seven attending members.

The opposition has been demanding a special investigation into Kim's alleged involvement in the stock manipulation scandal of Deutsche Motors, which is what the Democratic Party lawmaker had been talking about. The problem arose because he did not say the "Kim Keon Hee yeosa investigation" or the "Kim Keon Hee ssi investigation."

The committee's decision was lambasted by media outlets across the country. "If (Rep. Kim) called the first lady 'Kim Keon Hee,' that might be considered disparaging. But he was talking about the 'Kim Keon Hee investigation,' (a phrase) that has been widely used by local media," Local daily Hankuk Ilbo wrote in its editorial on Monday.

Choi Jin-bong, a professor of media communications at Sungkonghoe University, pointed out that the Yoon administration has been overly strict against any content critical of the president or the first lady.

"If (the government) keeps this up, they could penalize anything criticizing or satirizing the president or first lady Kim. I think this is a severe infringement of the freedom of speech and the press stipulated in the Constitution," he told local media.