"Kim Eo-jun, Open Political Involvement"... Over 130,000 Agree on 청원 to Demand His Removal

"Supporting Only Certain Parties While Undermining Opponents"
Controversy Between Ruling and Opposition Parties in April 7 Seoul Mayoral By-election
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon: "Broadcast Traffic Information"
Kim Eo-jun: "TBS Is an Independent Foundation... Difficult to Suspend Broadcasting"

Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Conflict is escalating over the position of broadcaster Kim Eo-jun, the host of the traffic broadcasting (TBS) current affairs program 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' (News Factory). A petition on the Blue House's national petition board demanding Kim's removal from TBS has garnered over 100,000 signatures within three days. The petitioners criticize Kim's program for "openly supporting only a specific political party," pointing out that Kim is directly involved in elections and politics.

On the 9th, a petition titled "Remove the biased political broadcaster Kim Eo-jun from TBS" was posted on the Blue House national petition board. The petitioner who wrote the post stated, "Seoul City Traffic Broadcasting exists to monitor Seoul's traffic flow in real time to prevent chaos," and criticized, "Kim Eo-jun openly supports only a specific political party, while blatantly disparaging opposing parties or politicians, deeply involving himself in elections and politics."

They added, "As public opinion surged with the people's anger to replace Kim Eo-jun, he responded by calling it discrimination. But TBS has long become a political broadcast supporting a specific party; is correcting this distorted traffic broadcast discrimination?" The petition received over 139,000 signatures as of 9 p.m. on the 12th, three days after posting. If a national petition receives more than 200,000 signatures, the Blue House is required to provide an official response.

A petition on the Blue House website requesting the removal of Mr. Kim from Traffic Broadcasting System (TBS) received nearly 140,000 endorsements on the 9th. / Photo by Blue House Petition Board Capture

This is not the first time that Kim's broadcast has sparked controversy over bias. Previously, political circles also debated Kim's broadcasting style.

During the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, 'News Factory' became one of the main points of contention between the ruling and opposition parties. When Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon pointed out the program's bias and mentioned the possibility of suspending budget support for TBS, the ruling party immediately pushed back.

In a February interview with a media outlet, Mayor Oh said, "If I become mayor, I will correct what needs to be corrected," adding, "It could take the form of not providing budget support to TBS."

Meanwhile, in an interview with 'Yonhap News' on the 28th of last month, he said, "It's fine for Kim Eo-jun to continue hosting 'News Factory,' but they should provide traffic information," and added, "During my tenure, there was no current affairs program like 'News Factory' on TBS. It was created by former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon."

In response, Park Young-sun, former Minister of SMEs and Startups and the Democratic Party's Seoul mayoral candidate, said in an interview with 'YTN' last month, "Statements that suppress a media outlet like this are very backward-looking," and countered, "The issue of suspending TBS broadcast support is not something the mayor can decide; the Seoul Metropolitan Council must amend the ordinance."

Democratic Party lawmaker Song Young-gil wrote on his Facebook at the time, "News Factory could disappear. The highest-rated broadcast ever could vanish," emphasizing, "Are you afraid of a morning without Kim Eo-jun? The power to overcome this fear is our vote."

The position of Kim on TBS's "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory" became a point of contention between the ruling and opposition parties during the recent Seoul mayoral by-election. The photo shows Park Young-sun, then the Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul mayoral candidate (left), and Oh Se-hoon, then the People Power Party's candidate, campaigning respectively on the 28th of last month, ten days before the Seoul mayoral by-election. / Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group [Image source=Yonhap News]

Amid growing controversy over the future of 'News Factory,' Kim asserted that "it is impossible for the Seoul mayor to interfere with TBS broadcasts."

On the 8th, Kim said on 'News Factory,' "Some people thought yesterday (the 7th) was the last broadcast of News Factory, and many wished for that. But it's a difficult matter. Beyond my will, the production team's will, or TBS's will, it is thanks to the elected official during Mayor Oh Se-hoon's term."

He continued, "During Mayor Oh Se-hoon's term, TBS was perceived as Seoul's 'promotional broadcast.' There was a lot of interference in broadcasting at that time, so we steadily built a structure to make TBS's broadcasts independent afterward," explaining, "Since then, TBS became an independent foundation, and even former Mayor Park Won-soon could not freely appear on broadcasts."

He emphasized, "The TBS president cannot dictate how to handle broadcast content either. That is how the structure was created."