"An Absolutely Unacceptable Incident"... Legal Sanctions Imposed on JIBS News for 'Anchor Drunk Broadcasting'

JIBS 8 News Anchor Faces Drunken Broadcast Controversy Last Year
Korea Communications Standards Commission Issues Legal Sanction of 'Caution'

Due to the 'drunken broadcast' controversy involving a news anchor last year, JIBS Jeju Broadcasting has been sanctioned by the Korea Communications Standards Commission. On the 4th, the commission held a plenary meeting at the Broadcasting Hall in Mokdong, Seoul, and unanimously decided to issue a legal sanction of 'caution' for the ‘JIBS 8 News’ broadcast aired on March 30 of last year.

Anchor of JIBS Jeju Broadcasting involved in controversy over drinking broadcast. JIBS capture

At the time, the anchor of 'JIBS 8 News' raised suspicions among viewers of being intoxicated on air. While delivering news related to the general election, he failed to properly pronounce candidates' names, 'promises by candidate,' and 'voting precautions,' and was unable to finish the sentence "Election pamphlet distribution has started." His shoulders shook excessively, and there was a 7-second segment without any anchor commentary, which appeared to be a broadcast accident.

This behavior was transmitted live as it was, leading to a flood of complaints on the viewer bulletin board asking, "Is this a drunken broadcast?" Accordingly, the program was subject to the Broadcasting Review Regulations, Article 27 (Maintenance of Dignity) Clause 1, and Article 55-2 (Broadcast Accidents).

On the day, JIBS stated in a written opinion, "The anchor in question forgot that he was substituting for the evening news and attended a festival opening ceremony held earlier that day, where he drank alcohol. Afterwards, feeling unwell, he took cold medicine and realized he was the substitute anchor. The news staff recognized something was wrong after the broadcast started and immediately stopped the news." They also said, "An apology broadcast was aired on April 1 through the same program, and on April 2, a disciplinary committee was held, resulting in a three-month suspension for the anchor and exclusion from news production for one year, while the news director received a warning."

However, the commission judged, "The post-action was not timely," and stated, "This is a broadcast accident that may occur once in several decades and is an absolutely unacceptable drunken broadcast. Legal sanctions are inevitable." The commission’s decisions are categorized as 'no problem,' administrative guidance stages such as 'suggestion' and 'recommendation,' and legal sanctions including 'caution,' 'warning,' 'program correction/modification/suspension and personnel disciplinary action,' and 'penalty charges.' Legal sanctions result in point deductions during broadcaster license renewal or reauthorization.