{"id":2205963,"date":"2024-07-31T16:23:39","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T07:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2205963"},"modified":"2024-08-01T15:41:54","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T06:41:54","slug":"south-koreas-media-independence-hangs-in-the-balance-amid-political-battles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/07\/south-koreas-media-independence-hangs-in-the-balance-amid-political-battles\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea\u2019s media independence hangs in the balance amid political battles"},"content":{"rendered":"
South Korea\u2019s media sector is constantly in a tug-of-war for control between conservative and progressive parties, which threatens to erode democratic principles and public trust in these institutions.<\/span><\/p>\n Under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the country\u2019s primary regulatory body for public broadcasting and telecommunications, is grappling with significant upheaval. High-profile resignations and contentious legislative maneuvers have marked this unsettled period.<\/span><\/p>\n Experts told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> that the current situation in South Korea\u2019s media sector is a symptom of deeper political dysfunction. As partisan struggles continue to shape the landscape, the challenge is to restore public confidence in media neutrality and ensure these institutions can operate without undue political influence.<\/span><\/p>\n KCC\u2019S DYSFUNCTIONAL STATE<\/b><\/p>\n The <\/span>KCC Act<\/span><\/a> decrees that the regulatory body must operate through the consensus of its five members, two of whom are appointed by the president and the other three by the National Assembly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, the KCC is currently non-functional due to the absence of three active members following a series of resignations and political deadlock that has prevented those seats from being filled.<\/span><\/p>\n The regulatory body has been in chaos since.<\/span><\/p>\n The last KCC commissioner, Lee Sang-in, resigned before the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) could move to <\/span>impeach<\/span><\/a> him, marking the third commissioner to resign during Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s presidency. Yoon <\/span>appointed<\/span><\/a> former journalist Lee Jin-sook to head the KCC after the position was vacant for almost a month.<\/span><\/p>\n Choi Min-hee, DP lawmaker and current Chair of the National Aseembly’s Broadcasting Committee during a committee meeting,\u00a0 June 26, 2024 | Image: Choi Min-hee via Twitter<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n A CONTINUING SAGA<\/b><\/p>\n Rhee Jong-hoon, a senior consultant at Politics and Business Consulting, highlighted the importance of the KCC\u2019s consensus-based structure for maintaining neutrality in media-related matters, with a system designed to ensure independence through recommendations from both ruling and opposition parties.<\/span><\/p>\n Rhee told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> that the KCC\u2019s non-functional state goes back to March 2023 when Yoon refused to accept the DP\u2019s nominees for the KCC.<\/span><\/p>\n Yoon declined to appoint <\/span>Choi Min-hee<\/span><\/a>, citing a potential conflict of interest due to her previous role as the vice president of the Korea Information Industry Association. Instead, Yoon appointed Lee Sang-in \u2014 who later resigned \u2014 and dismissed then-KCC chief <\/span>Han Sang-hyuk<\/span><\/a> following his indictment for <\/span>allegedly intentionally lowering the evaluation scores<\/span><\/a> of a conservative cable news channel during its license renewal process in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n This left the commission with two ruling bloc-appointed members and one opposition DP-appointed member, with Lee Sang-in as the sole KCC commissioner. Yoon then appointed Lee Dong-gwan as chairman in Aug. 2023. This appointment effectively reduced the KCC to a de facto two-member body, with only the chairman and vice chairman positions occupied.<\/span><\/p>\n The failure to fully staff the KCC has had a significant impact on South Korea\u2019s broadcast networks. For instance, despite the absence of a full five-member panel, the KCC <\/span>spearheaded<\/span><\/a> the <\/span>replacement<\/span><\/a> of the head of Korea Broadcasting System (KBS), South Korea\u2019s national broadcaster. This move led to abrupt changes in KBS\u2019 <\/span>personnel<\/span><\/a> and program choices.<\/span><\/p>\n Notably, KBS decided in February to <\/span>postpone<\/span><\/a> the airing of a documentary about the Sewol ferry disaster, which was originally set for April 18 to June. KBS stated at the time that the decision was based on the perception that airing the documentary on April 18 might have impacted the April 10 general elections.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf Yoon had simply agreed to appoint Choi Min-hee after the opposition recommended her, the KCC might have had a complete five-member panel by now,\u201d Rhee told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol with then-KCC Chairman Lee Dong-gwan, Aug. 25, 2023 | Image: ROK Presidential Office<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n POLITICAL THEATER<\/b><\/p>\n The DP has responded to the KCC\u2019s moves by filing impeachment motions against Yoon\u2019s appointed chairpersons, <\/span>Lee Dong-gwan<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Kim Hong-il<\/span><\/a>, who both resigned from their posts before the opposition could move ahead with impeachment hearings.<\/span><\/p>\n