Broadcasting Fee Revenue Drops by 260 Billion KRW
Personnel Costs Reduced by 110.1 Billion KRW
KBS Media Union Calls It "Intentional Restructuring"
President Park Min Says "Not Based on Layoffs"
Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) is undergoing workforce reductions, leading to mid-level announcers such as Jeong Se-jin, Hwang Jeong-min, and Lee Gwang-yong packing up one after another.
According to KBS on the 27th, announcer Hwang Jeong-min applied for special honorary retirement starting from the 20th. His retirement was confirmed at the personnel committee meeting held on the 25th, and he will leave the company as of the 31st of this month. Announcer Hwang joined KBS as part of the 19th public recruitment class in 1993. He has hosted major programs such as "VJ Special Forces" and "Challenge! Earth Exploration Team." From 1998 to 2017, he hosted KBS Radio's "Hwang Jeong-min FM Parade," and since March 2020, he has been the DJ of "Hwang Jeong-min's Music Show," with his final live broadcast scheduled for the 29th.
In addition to announcer Hwang, announcer Lee Gwang-yong also applied for special honorary retirement. He joined KBS in 2003 as part of the 29th public recruitment class and has hosted current affairs and educational programs such as "History Journal That Day," as well as worked as a sports caster for football and baseball. Recently, he also covered the 2024 Paris Olympics.
KBS is facing financial difficulties due to ongoing deficits and the impact of separating TV license fee collection. In this year's comprehensive budget, license fee revenue is expected to drop by about 260 billion KRW compared to last year, resulting in a projected deficit of 143.1 billion KRW. To resolve the financial crisis, KBS decided to reduce labor costs by 110.1 billion KRW.
In January this year, special honorary retirement was offered to employees with over 20 years of service, and the first round of honorary and voluntary retirements was open to those with over one year of service, resulting in a total of 87 employees leaving the company. At that time, announcers Jeong Se-jin, Jeong Eun-seung, and Kim Yoon-ji applied for special honorary retirement and resigned as of February 29. It is reported that about 30 people applied for the second round of applications this time. Those selected for special honorary retirement can receive up to 45 months’ worth of base salary and a severance payment on a sliding scale. Voluntary retirees can receive up to 6 months’ worth of base salary plus severance pay.
From the 2nd of next month, unpaid leave applications will also be accepted. This is the first time since KBS was founded in 1973 that unpaid leave is being promoted as a cost-saving measure. The unpaid leave is available to general KBS employees, who can take a two-month leave during October-November, December, or January of next year. The leave period counts toward length of service but does not affect promotions or severance pay. KBS expects that if 10 employees take unpaid leave, labor costs will be reduced by 150 million KRW; if 50 employees, by 760 million KRW; and if 100 employees, by 1.52 billion KRW.
The KBS branch of the Korean Federation of Mediaworkers’ Unions issued a statement on the 20th, saying, "Since CEO Park Min’s inauguration, the crisis he deliberately caused is being unfairly shifted onto workers under the names of special honorary retirement, voluntary retirement, and unpaid leave," and criticized, "The management’s push for unpaid leave appears to be an attempt by a parachuted CEO, taking advantage of the absence of a majority union, to proceed with structural reforms by following procedures." CEO Park rebutted at the board meeting, stating, "This is not being implemented on the premise of layoffs."
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