KBS President "Please Understand Absence from Science and ICT Committee"... Choi Min-hee "Will Attend by 3:30 PM"

National Assembly Science and ICT Committee Full Meeting at 2 PM on the 25th
KBS President "Absent to Protect Public Broadcasting Independence"
Choi Min-hee "Attended Presidential Meeting... Cannot Understand"

Choi Min-hee, the chairman of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged Park Min, the president of KBS, who did not appear as a witness at the plenary session, to attend.

On the 11th, the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee meeting was held at the National Assembly without the participation of ruling party members. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

At the plenary session of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee held at 2 p.m. on the 25th, Chairman Choi stated regarding President Park, who sent a letter of apology for not attending the committee, "I myself cannot accept this," and announced, "He is notified to appear by 3:30 p.m. on the same day."

Earlier, President Park sent a letter of apology for non-attendance to the committee. In the letter, Park stated that "the independence of public broadcasting and freedom of the press could be seriously infringed upon, and the KBS president has a grave responsibility to protect the independence of public broadcasting."

In response, Chairman Choi said, "President Park attended the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee meeting presided over by the president on the 19th," adding, "At the meeting, he declared that he would devote the organization's full capabilities, and the next day, KBS announced the period from July 8 to 11 as the Low Birthrate Crisis Response Broadcasting Week."

He continued, "President Park did not attend the report on the separate billing of license fees to the KBS board in order to attend the president-led meeting," and added, "While he attended the presidential meeting, which involved matters critical to KBS's survival, he refused to attend the National Assembly, where he was selected as a witness, citing the independence of public broadcasting. I myself cannot allow this."

Chairman Choi also stated, "I inform you that witnesses who fail to appear without justifiable reasons may be subject to prosecution under the Act on Testimony, Appraisal, etc. in the National Assembly."