Han Sang-hyuk, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, appeared at the prosecution on the 22nd in connection with allegations surrounding the TV Chosun re-approval review.
The Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Park Kyung-seop) summoned Chairman Han as a suspect on charges including obstruction of official duties by deception, and is investigating the extent of his involvement in score manipulation during the 2020 Korea Communications Commission’s TV Chosun re-approval review.
They are also verifying allegations that Chairman Han appointed a specific individual as a re-approval reviewer through his close aide, policy advisor Lee.
Before appearing at the prosecution, Chairman Han stated, “It is clear that I never gave any illegal or improper instructions regarding the 2020 comprehensive programming channel news and re-approval review,” and added, “The criminal charges listed in the search warrant are completely unacceptable.”
The prosecution has been investigating since last September after receiving audit materials containing allegations that the Korea Communications Commission deliberately lowered TV Chosun’s final evaluation score.
The prosecution believes that Yang, former Director of the Broadcasting Policy Bureau, and Cha, former Head of the Operations Support Division, who were working in the broadcasting policy department at the time, informed TV Chosun’s final evaluation score and requested score sheet modifications, and that Professor Yoon of Gwangju University, who chaired the review panel, colluded with them to manipulate the review results by lowering some item scores below the passing threshold.
The prosecution previously indicted these three on charges including obstruction of official duties by deception, and last month conducted searches of Chairman Han’s office and residence to determine at what level the final decision was made.
Chairman Han, a former lawyer, was appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration in 2019.
The prosecution is considering requesting an arrest warrant based on the investigation results today, believing that Chairman Han either ordered the score manipulation or at least was informed of it.
In the 2020 review, TV Chosun scored a total of 653.39 points, surpassing the re-approval threshold of 650 points out of 1,000.
However, in the key review category of “public responsibility and feasibility of fairness in broadcasting, and regional, social, and cultural necessity,” TV Chosun received 104.15 points out of 210, falling below 50% and thus failing the threshold, resulting in conditional re-approval.
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