Prosecutors Seek Arrest Warrant for TV Chosun Reauthorization Review Chairman Over Allegations

Last September, the prosecution conducted a search and seizure at the Broadcasting and Communications Commission (KCC) building in the Government Complex Gwacheon in relation to the intentional point deduction for the re-approval of general programming channels.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] A detention warrant has been requested for the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) evaluation committee, who is suspected of deliberately lowering the re-approval score for TV Chosun.

On the 15th, the Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Park Kyung-seop) announced that they had requested a detention warrant for Professor Yoon (63) on charges of obstruction of official duties by deception the previous day. Judge Lim Ki-hwan, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Northern District Court, is scheduled to conduct a substantive hearing on Professor Yoon's warrant at 10:30 a.m. on the 17th.

Professor Yoon is suspected of intentionally lowering the score while serving as the evaluation committee chairman during TV Chosun's re-approval in 2020. The prosecution claims that when Director Yang and Manager Cha, who worked in the broadcasting policy department, informed the final evaluation score of TV Chosun and requested a revision, Professor Yoon accepted it.

The prosecution began an investigation related to the allegations after receiving audit materials from the Board of Audit and Inspection in September last year. The KCC was subjected to a total of three search and seizure operations.

The re-approval standard for general programming channels is a minimum of 650 points out of 1000, but if the key evaluation items do not exceed 50% of the total score, conditional re-approval or rejection of approval is imposed. At that time, TV Chosun received 653.39 points. However, since the key evaluation item "Public responsibility and feasibility of fairness in broadcasting, and regional, social, and cultural necessity" did not exceed 50% of the total score, TV Chosun received conditional re-approval.