Lee Jin-sook appointed as KCC chair amid controversy

President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the appointment of Chairman Lee Jin-sook and Standing Member Kim Tae-gyu of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). It has been five days since Acting Chairman and Vice Chairman Lee Sang-in voluntarily resigned on July 26 to avoid impeachment by the opposition party, leaving an unprecedented void in the number of standing committee members. KCC, which has a minimum quorum of two members, held a general meeting this afternoon and appointed director of public broadcasting, while the opposition party proposed an impeachment motion against the new chairman.

The hectic events surrounding KCC depict a situation between the ruling and opposition parties seeking dominance over KBS and MBC. Chairman Lee and Standing Committee Member Kim skipped the appointment ceremony and the visit to the National Cemetery and approved the appointment of public broadcasting directors as the first agenda. According to KCC meeting regulations, the meeting agenda must be delivered to the standing committee members 48 hours in advance and made public through the website in 24 hours unless situations are unavoidable due to urgent reasons. The appointment of directors at MBC and KBS, whose terms end on August 12 and 31, is not so urgent enough to skip general procedures. Instead, it is seen as a tactical approach to change the board of directors of the public broadcaster to the ruling party's advantage before the opposition party votes on the impeachment bill.

Meanwhile, it is abnormal to submit a motion for impeachment of the new chair as soon as she takes office. The opposition party argues that since KCC is a consensus body of five standing members, handling the agenda with a two-member system is illegal and constitutes grounds for impeachment. Though the court points out the inadequacy of the two-member system, there is no precedent for a court ruling on its illegality. The opposition party is considering filing for a provisional injunction against the appointment of directors. It must do anything it can to prevent losing dominance in public broadcasting.

The standoff between the ruling and opposition parties over the voting rights of KCC has continued for 15 months, with former Chairman Han Sang-hyuk, who was appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration, refusing to step down even after the incumbent government took office. He was eventually dismissed and replaced by acting Chair Kim Hyo-jae. Afterwards, Chairman Lee Dong-kwan voluntarily resigned to avoid impeachment less than 100 days after his appointment in August last year. Chairman Kim Hong-il took office as his successor but resigned after only seven months. In August 2023, the term of office of the three standing committee members, who the ruling and opposition parties recommended, expired, but the recommendation and appointment of successors were not made due to various reasons, causing a repetition of the impeachment and repetition of key roles. The extreme confrontation to gain dominance in power in public broadcasting is leading to a breakdown not only in broadcasting and communications policy but also in the overall state administration. It is unreasonable for policy makers not even considering restoring the commission to a five-member system.