Court acknowledges FBC director appointment is problematic

The Seoul Administrative Court accepted a request for suspension of execution of the appointment of new board members of MBC’s majority shareholder, the Foundation of Broadcast Culture (FBC). The court acknowledged that the appointment of the foundation’s directors based on the decision of two presidential appointees of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the commission’s chair Lee Jin-sook and its standing member Kim Tae-gyu, was problematic. As a result, the six new directors appointed by the KCC on July 31 cannot begin their terms until 30 days after the court's ruling. This means that the FBC’s board members appointed by the previous administration will continue to serve until their successors are appointed despite their expired terms.

In its decision, the court pointed out that it defeated the purpose of the legislation, which was to allow the KCC to deliberate and decide important matters with only two members. The KCC is a consensus body composed of five standing members to ensure the fairness and independence of broadcasting and reflect political diversity. The court ruled that such a two-member system would not fulfill these legislative purposes. This is the same reason why the Seoul High Court made a decision to suspend the execution last year on the KCC's appointment of the successor of the FBC’s chief director Kwon Tae-sun under the two-member system.

Such confusion was caused by the government's dysfunctional management of the KCC. The KCC has been operating under the two-member system for over a year after the terms of three standing members expired in August 2023 because the nomination and appointment of their successors were delayed amid conflict with the opposition party. In the recent appointment of the FBC’s board members, the KCC’s operation rules were ignored and the appointment plan was passed without disclosing the agenda in advance. It was also pointed out that 643 pages of applications submitted by 83 applicants were reviewed and the recommendations were made within two hours. Regarding procedural compliance and the lawfulness of the deliberations, the court found that it is not easy to believe that each of the prerequisites for the decision making of the consensus body were substantially met.

The court's repeated rebukes of the KCC’s “maneuvering” raises fundamental questions about the commission’s current system. The KCC was established in 2008 to proactively respond to the convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications, but it has been plagued by conflicts amid political battles over control of public broadcasting. Recently, the controversy over 'broadcasting control' led to an unprecedented situation in which the opposition party pushed for the impeachment of the KCC’s chairs one after another. The ruling and opposition parties should hurry to nominate three members for the vacant seats, and the president should appoint them, at least fulfilling the minimum requirement of a consensus system.