The court has put a brake on the appointment of the new board members of the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation (KBCPF), the major shareholder of MBC. As a result, the new board members cannot begin their terms until the outcome of the main lawsuit is decided.
The Seoul Administrative Court’s 12th Administrative Division (Chief Judge Kang Jae-won) on the 26th granted the suspension of execution requested by KBCPF Chairman Kwon Tae-seon and directors Kim Ki-jung and Park Seon-ah against the Korea Communications Commission regarding the appointment of KBCPF directors.
The court stated, “Considering that the main lawsuit is expected to take a considerable amount of time for trial, even if the applicants win the main lawsuit, it will be difficult to recover the damages suffered from being unable to perform their duties as KBCPF directors,” and added, “There is an urgent need to suspend the effect of the appointment for the applicants.”
The court also noted, “Having only two members deliberate and decide on important matters delegated to the respondent may undermine the legislative purpose pursued by the Korea Communications Commission Act,” and judged, “The applicants have grounds to dispute the legality or illegality of the appointment made through the two-member deliberation and decision in the main lawsuit.”
However, on the same day, the 6th Administrative Division of the same court (Chief Judge Na Jin-yi) dismissed a similar request from applicants including former MBC Plus CEO Cho Neung-hee and other candidates who applied for KBCPF director positions. The court reasoned, “The applicants are merely candidates who applied for the KBCPF director appointment process, and there is no evidence to suggest that they would have been immediately appointed as directors if there were no candidates appointed by the appointment decision.” It further explained the dismissal of the suspension request by stating, “If the appointment decision is canceled in the main lawsuit, the applicants will be given the opportunity to participate again as candidates in the appointment process after the illegalities have been corrected.”
Earlier, on the 31st of last month, the Korea Communications Commission appointed six new KBCPF directors about 10 hours after appointing Chairperson Lee Jin-sook and Commissioner Kim Tae-gyu. The new directors included Professor Kim Dong-ryul of Sogang University, Son Jeong-mi of TV Chosun’s Viewer Committee, Yoon Gil-yong, a special broadcasting advisory member of the Korea Communications Standards Commission, Lee Woo-yong, a mediator of the Press Arbitration Commission, lawyer Lim Mu-young, and lawyer Heo Ik-beom. In response, Chairman Kwon and other opposition-leaning directors filed a cancellation lawsuit and requested a suspension of execution, arguing that the appointment by the ‘two-member system’ Korea Communications Commission was illegal.
Separately, former MBC Plus CEO Cho Neung-hee, former Arirang International Broadcasting Head of Broadcasting Song Yo-hoon, and former Jeonju MBC CEO Song Ki-won, who applied for KBCPF director positions but were not appointed, also filed a cancellation lawsuit against the Korea Communications Commission and requested a suspension of execution.
Meanwhile, Chairperson Lee was suspended from duty on the 2nd after the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion led by the opposition party, pending the Constitutional Court’s decision.
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