Seoul City Councilor Jong-bae Lee: "Prosecutors Launch Investigation into Lee Kang-taek, TBS CEO"

[Seoul Metropolitan Council News] On the 7th, Seoul Councilor Lee Jong-bae issued a press release announcing that an investigation has been launched into the case where Lee Kang-taek, CEO of TBS, was reported to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for alleged breach of trust, dereliction of duty, and abuse of authority... People Power Party Representative Choi Ho-jung of the Seoul Metropolitan Council proposed the 'Resolution to Establish a Special Committee for Improving Academic Achievement in Seoul Education'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Lee Jong-bae, Seoul City Council member (People Power Party, photo), announced on the 7th through a press release that "the prosecution has launched an investigation into the case in which the civic group Action Alliance for Restoring the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon) filed a complaint on June 30 against Lee Kang-taek, CEO of TBS, for charges including breach of duty, neglect of duty, and abuse of authority at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office."

Lee revealed a certificate of fact confirming that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which received the complaint, assigned the case to the 1st Criminal Division on July 4.

Lee stated, "Despite concerns and criticisms from various sectors about the political bias of 'TBS Kim Eo-jun News Factory,' the accused, as the final person responsible for management and supervision, made no effort to correct this. Instead, by defending the host Kim Eo-jun and condoning unfair and biased broadcasting, the accused clearly neglected their duties," adding, "Paying nearly 500 million won annually to host Kim Eo-jun without a contract, causing damage to TBS, is clearly a breach of duty and abuse of authority and should be severely punished."

He continued, "Seoul citizens have the right to listen to fair and beneficial broadcasts. However, we cannot overlook the reality where Seoul citizens are suffering mental distress due to the biased broadcasting of TBS News Factory, which represents a specific political faction. This must be corrected."

The People Power Party of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (Representative Councilor Choi Ho-jung, photo) announced that to improve academic achievement and reduce students with basic academic deficiencies in Seoul education, they have decided to form a special committee within the Seoul Metropolitan Council. On the 6th, they submitted the 'Resolution on the Formation of the Seoul Metropolitan Council Special Committee for Academic Improvement in Seoul Education' to the council's secretariat with the names of all 76 affiliated council members.

On the same day, the People Power Party Seoul council members also jointly proposed five ordinances related to public welfare, aimed at supporting the livelihood stability of residents in difficult circumstances, preventing stalking crimes, and supporting victims.

Representative Councilor Choi Ho-jung stated, "Concerns about the decline in academic achievement in Seoul's public education for elementary, middle, and high schools are growing. Especially, national-level academic diagnostic evaluations show an increasing number of Seoul students lacking basic academic skills," and explained, "We decided to create the 'Special Committee for Academic Improvement in Seoul Education' to review and evaluate the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's policies for academic diagnosis and improvement and to prepare improvement measures."

Choi added, "In other metropolitan cities like Gwangju and Daegu, education offices are proactively working to improve student academic achievement, but in Seoul, it is left to private education led by parents. As a result, while some academically excellent students receive extensive private education due to strong parental interest and high costs, the majority of students do not receive systematic and passionate academic diagnosis and support in public education, resulting in the lowest academic levels nationwide."

He further explained, "Considering that students who lack basic academic skills may face social neglect or discrimination as adults, reducing students with basic academic deficiencies is an urgent human rights issue. Seoul's public education taking the lead in academic improvement is also a path to public welfare for parents."

The ordinance partially amending the 'Seoul Metropolitan City Ordinance on Support for Resident Livelihood Stability,' led by Councilor Moon Seong-ho (Seodaemun 2), upgrades major Seoul-type welfare projects such as the 'Safe Income Pilot Project' and the 'Seoul-type Basic Guarantee System,' currently specified in the enforcement rules, to ordinance-supported matters to be implemented. This aligns with Mayor Oh Se-hoon's administrative philosophy of 'Walking with the Vulnerable.'

This ordinance aims to help resolve welfare blind spots caused by property items with low actual value by requiring consideration of factors such as 'housing official price fluctuation rate' and 'inflation rate' when setting support criteria, thereby supporting livelihood stability for residents without substantial income.

The 'Seoul Metropolitan City Ordinance on Prevention of Stalking Crimes and Support for Victims,' led by Councilor Kim Ji-hyang (Yeongdeungpo 4), mandates the Seoul Mayor to establish and implement policies for preventing stalking crimes and to build cooperative systems with the National Police Agency and others.

This ordinance also provides a basis for psychological counseling and legal support for citizens who have suffered from stalking crimes.

The 'Seoul Metropolitan City Basic Housing Ordinance Amendment,' led by Councilor Lee Seung-bok (Yangcheon 4), and the 'Seoul Metropolitan City Ordinance on Welfare and Livelihood Support for Residents of Gosiwon (small rooms),' led by Councilor Yoo Man-hee (Gangnam 4), include provisions allowing Seoul to supply rental housing and support move-in for non-housing residents such as those living in gosiwon.

Until now, support for residents of gosiwon and similar dwellings was limited to fire safety facility installation.

The 'Gosiwon Residents Support Ordinance' also enables Seoul to establish livelihood support plans for gosiwon residents and provide meal and medical support services.

The 'Seoul Metropolitan City Public Health and Medical Care Ordinance,' led by Councilor Lee Jong-bae (People Power Party, proportional representation), requires the Seoul Mayor to annually establish and implement a public health and medical care implementation plan to effectively provide high-quality public health and medical services to Seoul citizens.

The ordinance also imposes an obligation on the mayor to establish and implement health and medical service policies for vulnerable groups, ensuring that 'walking with the vulnerable' is practically realized in the health and medical field.