On the 14th, during the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee’s audit, a heated debate arose over the management responsibilities of the executives of KBS, EBS, and the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Agency.
In the afternoon session at the National Assembly, the committee questioned Park Min, President of KBS; Kim Yoo-yeol, President of EBS; Kwon Tae-seon, Chairman of the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Agency; and Kim Tae-gyu, Acting Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, regarding the audit of KBS, EBS, and the Promotion Agency. From the start of the audit, the issue of Park Min, KBS President, being reported to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission for alleged conflict of interest violations was brought to the forefront.
The KBS Headquarters of the National Union of Mediaworkers emphasized that Park did not file a recusal request regarding the ‘KBS Board Secretariat Director and Board Staff,’ over whom he could exercise personnel authority as KBS President, when applying for the new president position, calling this a conflict of interest violation.
Lee Jeong-heon, a member of the Democratic Party, asked, “Who holds the personnel authority over the Secretariat Director and affiliated staff of the (KBS Board)?” and added, “Isn’t it the current president, Park? The current president with personnel authority applied for the next president position, didn’t he?”
Lee Hae-min, a member of the Innovation Party, confronted Park Min, KBS President, saying, “You are being evaluated as the vanguard in destroying public broadcasting under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration,” and criticized, “You played the Kimigayo on Liberation Day, aired pro-Japanese documentaries, and displayed the Taegeukgi flag upside down. Isn’t that pathetic?”
On the 7th, a national audit of the Korea Communications Commission and others was held at the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
Lee Hoon-gi, a Democratic Party member, pointed out, “You have been reported for violating the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act. If the Anti-Corruption Commission finds you guilty, will you resign?” He also criticized, “With the separate collection of license fees, the license fee revenue is declining. This is a policy failure.” This expressed doubts about Park’s decision to apply for the president position despite worsening management conditions such as decreased license fee income.
In response, President Park said, “We should not proceed by pushing through,” and added, “Personnel matters are handled through discussions with the chairman.”
On the other hand, the ruling party focused on criticizing the fairness of MBC’s reporting. Park Jeong-hoon, a member of the People Power Party, criticized Chairman Kwon, saying, “Only half of the public thinks MBC is a fair media outlet,” and added, “MBC acts as a party for the Democratic Party, is lenient only toward the Democratic Party, and applies harsh standards to the ruling party and the Yoon Seok-yeol government.”
Park Chung-kwon, also from the same party, criticized MBC Newsdesk’s reporting, saying, “In the same issue, they criticized the Moon Jae-in government but criticize the Yoon Seok-yeol government,” and added, “MBC is speaking with a double standard.”
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