Running a deficit... The 'God's Workplace' receiving 12.33 million KRW in annual leave allowance per year

Annual Leave Allowance '180% of Basic Salary' Applied
KBS to Submit 'Broadcasting Fee Adjustment Plan' to National Assembly

KBS. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] It has been revealed that KBS, which is pushing for a fee increase, has been engaging in wasteful management, such as excessively paying annual leave allowances.

According to the KBS regular audit report (conducted every three years) released by the Board of Audit and Inspection on the 24th, KBS has continued wasteful management by applying the basic amount of the annual leave allowance, paid for unused vacation days, at "180% of the base salary." This is significantly higher compared to other public institutions that pay annual leave allowances at around 130-140% of the base salary.

One senior KBS employee's daily annual leave allowance (as of 2018) reached 649,200 KRW, and the total allowance received in one year was 12,334,760 KRW. Excessive labor costs have been a recurring issue pointed out in every KBS audit but have yet to be improved.

The proportion of labor costs in KBS's total budget execution is also 36.3%, which is significantly higher than other terrestrial broadcasters such as MBC (20.2%) and SBS (19.0%).

However, KBS's business losses sharply increased from 58.5 billion KRW in 2018 to 75.9 billion KRW in 2019, indicating that the situation continues to worsen. This is due to a sharp decline in broadcasting advertising revenue caused by the growth of comprehensive programming channels and increased interest in new broadcasting platforms such as YouTube and Netflix.

Yang Seung-dong, President of KBS, stated in his New Year's address last January, "The realization of the license fee is our long-cherished wish and the path we must take," expressing his intention to raise the license fee.
/Photo by Yonhap News

To cover the deficit, KBS plans to submit a "Broadcasting Fee Adjustment Plan" to the National Assembly next month, proposing to raise the current monthly fee from 2,500 KRW to 3,500 KRW, a 52% increase. KBS claims that this is "inevitable to qualitatively strengthen broadcasting content for the public as a public broadcaster," but it has been confirmed that KBS's fee income has actually increased.

The Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out, "Despite worsening management, KBS operates with an excessively large total workforce and does not reduce the proportion of higher-ranking positions increased by frequent promotions, raising concerns that enormous labor costs could burden the finances."