Gwangju City Council 5·18 Special Committee Urges Withdrawal of Lee Dong-wook's Appointment as KBS Director

President Yoon Suk-yeol's appointment of Lee Dong-wook as a KBS replacement director on the 11th has sparked controversy over his past remarks belittling the May 18 Gwangju Uprising.

Following calls for his dismissal from the Democratic Party's Gwangju branch, the Gwangju Metropolitan Council's May 18 Special Committee also issued a statement.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Council's May 18 Special Committee stated on the 12th, "We cannot help but condemn the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's anti-democratic and anti-constitutional attempt to seize control of the public broadcasting system."

The committee said, "In 1996, Lee Dong-wook published an article titled 'Top 10 False Reports and Exaggerations Related to the Gwangju Incident' in Monthly Chosun, claiming that the existence of sexual violence during the May 18 Democratic Movement, the use of tanks and flamethrowers for suppression, and the prior distribution of live ammunition related to mass shootings were false reports," adding, "These are facts already confirmed, but he maliciously distorted and reported unconfirmed facts due to insufficient investigation."

They continued, "Even recently, he has refused to issue a public apology, referred to the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Movement as the 'Gwangju Incident,' and continued to make outrageous remarks such as 'The essence of May 18 is that many innocent citizens were incited by a few agitators,'" emphasizing, "He is regarded as a representative figure who belittles the May 18 event."

They also explained, "In 2020, the Liberty Korea Party, the predecessor of the ruling People Power Party, recommended former journalist Lee Dong-wook as a KBS director, but the Korea Communications Commission rejected the nomination," adding, "This already confirmed that he was unfit to serve as a KBS director."

The committee stated, "However, in 2023, the ruling party in power recommended former journalist Lee Dong-wook as a KBS replacement director under the name of the Korea Communications Commission, and President Yoon Suk-yeol pushed through the appointment despite opposition from the media sector," asserting, "As a result, the KBS board of directors, a public broadcaster, now has a structure favoring the ruling party with six members from the ruling party and five from the opposition."

Furthermore, "The KBS board is scheduled to hold a final vote for the president's appointment on the 13th without conducting the re-application process required by regulations," they said, adding, "Given these circumstances, it appears that a plan is underway to install a regime loyalist as the head of KBS to seize control of the broadcaster, and we are deeply concerned about the president appointment process proceeding within this ruling party-favored structure."

They also warned, "If public broadcasting is seized by the regime ahead of the general election, KBS, which should be a public weapon for the people, will be reduced to a workshop producing broadcasts favorable to the government and ruling party," emphasizing, "History worldwide has confirmed that democracy cannot be expected in a society where freedom of the press is not guaranteed."

The Gwangju Metropolitan Council's May 18 Special Committee, inheriting the history of the May 18 Democratic Movement that led to the establishment of democracy in the Republic of Korea, condemns the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's media takeover through May 18 belittling figures as a shameless suppression of democracy and strongly demands the withdrawal of former journalist Lee Dong-wook's appointment.

They added, "The KBS board, which is not ashamed to become the regime's mouthpiece, should remember and carry on the spirit of senior journalists who vowed to resign in May 1980 out of shame," urging, "We call for the immediate suspension of the president appointment vote scheduled for the 13th and for the chairman to proceed with the re-application process."