Gwang Committee Members of the People Power Party Urge Chairman Jeong Cheong-rae to Resign

All Members of the People Power Party Issue a Statement on the 7th

Members of the People Power Party belonging to the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee announced a resolution (statement) on the afternoon of the 7th urging the resignation of Committee Chairman Jeong Cheong-rae. The photo shows Chairman Jeong Cheong-rae conducting a meeting of the full committee on the 24th of last month at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, with no People Power Party members in attendance. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] On the afternoon of the 7th, members of the People Power Party belonging to the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee announced a resolution (statement) urging the resignation of Jeong Cheong-rae, the chairman of the committee. This was due to his deliberate avoidance of appointing the ruling party's floor leader and the violation of the neutrality value that the committee chairman should uphold.

All ruling party members, including Representative Park Seong-jung, criticized in the statement, "National Assembly member Jeong Cheong-rae, as the chairman of the committee, should faithfully fulfill the duties of representing the committee, organizing discussions, maintaining order, and supervising affairs according to Article 49, Paragraph 1 of the National Assembly Act. However, he operated the committee arbitrarily, privatized it, and abused the chairman's authority."

They added, "Chairman Jeong Cheong-rae conducted four plenary meetings on July 27 and 29, and August 18 and 24, without appointing the ruling party's floor leader, proceeding unilaterally. He also concurrently holds the position of a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, which can undermine the neutrality essential to the role of the committee chairman."

Furthermore, they pointed out, "He abused his authority as chairman by questioning Broadcasting and Communications Commissioner Han Sang-hyuk about 'allowing commercial advertisements on TBS and the national budget allocation.' This was a collusion with Commissioner Han to privatize the chairman's role in order to save 'TBS Kim Eo-jun's News Factory,' a symbol of unfair biased broadcasting, disregarding laws and principles."

Earlier, on the 18th, Chairman Jeong Cheong-rae asked Commissioner Han Sang-hyuk at the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee plenary meeting, "Regarding TBS, the budget is cleverly allocated only until October, and after that, TBS might face a situation where broadcasting is suspended. As the commissioner, is there no involvement in this matter?" Commissioner Han replied, "Since the establishment of the foundation (Media Foundation TBS), there has been a request to allow commercial advertisements, and the Broadcasting and Communications Commission responded that it would decide on permission after observing the operation process. We will review this matter."

The People Power Party also pointed out that Chairman Jeong Cheong-rae is avoiding appointing the ruling party's floor leader. The ruling party members said, "Thus, Chairman Jeong Cheong-rae is judged to have failed to faithfully perform his duties as chairman stipulated by the National Assembly Act. Despite having the minimum moral obligation to support the agreement of floor leaders of negotiation groups, he deliberately avoids appointing the ruling party's floor leader and causes disruptions."

They continued, "National Assembly member Jeong Cheong-rae has consistently stood with his own camp and clearly expressed his intention not to appoint the floor leader of the negotiation group. Considering this, he has abandoned his responsibilities as chairman and can be judged to have already lost his qualification. Therefore, we strongly urge him to resign as chairman of the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee on September 7, 2022."

The statement was signed by floor leader Park Seong-jung, as well as Kwon Seong-dong, Chu Kyung-ho, Kim Young-sik, Yoon Doo-hyun, Ha Young-je, Hong Seok-jun, and Heo Eun-ah.