Chairman 'Suspended from Duty'... Up to 180 Days Required
Disruptions Inevitable in Broadcasting and Telecommunications Operations
Opposition's Pressure Continues with Hearings and State Audits
With the impeachment motion against Lee Jin-sook, Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), passing the National Assembly plenary session on the 2nd, only the procedure of awaiting the Constitutional Court's decision, which can take up to 180 days, remains.
On that day, the National Assembly approved the impeachment motion against Chairperson Lee with 186 votes in favor, 1 against, and 1 invalid out of 188 members present. The People Power Party protested by walking out before the vote.
With the passage of the impeachment motion in the National Assembly, Chairperson Lee's duties are suspended, and the KCC's operations are effectively brought to a halt. Chairperson Lee earned the stigma of being a 'short-term minister' who only came to work for two days on the 31st of last month and the 1st of this month before facing impeachment.
The opposition, which led the impeachment, claims that the KCC's decision to appoint public broadcasting directors with a two-person system was illegal. However, the ruling party believes there is a high possibility that the impeachment motion will be dismissed or rejected by the Constitutional Court.
Once the impeachment case is filed, the Constitutional Court must reach a conclusion on the impeachment within 180 days. High-ranking public officials are subject to impeachment if they violate the law in the execution of their duties.
An impeachment decision requires the approval of at least six out of nine Constitutional Court justices. Even if impeachment is decided, civil and criminal liabilities are not exempted, and those dismissed by impeachment cannot become public officials for five years.
Aftermath of the KCC Continues Amid Public Broadcasting Issues
While awaiting the Constitutional Court's decision, the KCC is expected to remain in a state of 'temporary closure' for several months. Disruptions are inevitable across the KCC's operations, including broadcasting, telecommunications, and media. Previously, it took about 160 days for the Constitutional Court to reach a decision regarding Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
The opposition's offensive against the KCC over the legality of the public broadcasting director appointment process is expected to continue.
The National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee held a plenary session that day and decided to hold a hearing on the 9th to question the KCC about the public broadcasting director appointment process.
Chairperson Lee, Vice Chair Kim Tae-gyu, and Kwon Tae-seon, Chairman of the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation (major shareholder of MBC), among others, are scheduled to appear as witnesses.
On the 6th, an on-site inspection of the KCC is planned for this purpose. During the inspection, internal documents and meeting minutes related to the public broadcasting director appointment process, which was conducted privately on the 31st of last month, are expected to be reviewed.
The opposition plans to push for a 'Broadcasting Takeover Special Investigation' during the August extraordinary session of the National Assembly.
KCC Clarifies "Public Broadcasting Directors Appointed by Two-Person Voting"
Chairperson Lee submitted a letter of absence to the Science and ICT Committee the previous day and did not attend the plenary session due to health reasons.
Kim Young-gwan, KCC Planning and Coordination Officer, attended as a witness in place of Chairperson Lee and stated that the appointments of KBS and Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation directors were decided by voting.
Officer Kim explained, "Since the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation originally needs to appoint nine directors, two people (Chairperson Lee and Vice Chair Kim) each voted for nine candidates, and those who received votes from both were appointed."
He said that voting was conducted for 31 applicants for the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation director positions, and those who received votes from both Chairperson Lee and Vice Chair Kim were appointed. Officer Kim added, "Since nine were not selected, the process ended with six appointments," and explained, "I recall the voting was repeated about seven to eight times."
Democratic Party lawmaker Noh Jong-myeon asked, "Did you mechanically vote until two votes were cast? Was there no coordination process when each candidate received one vote?" and KCC Secretariat Chief Cho Sung-eun replied, "There was none."
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