Appointment of Public Broadcaster Board Members Begins; Disagreements Arise Over Tenure and Start Dates

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has recommended four candidates for the KBS Board of Directors to the President for appointment and has appointed eight members to the Foundation for Broadcast Culture, effective July 10.

The KCC approved these recommendations and appointments during its 22nd plenary meeting held on July 6.

Regarding the delays in forming the boards for public broadcasters, KCC members urged the various entities that have yet to complete their recommendations—including parliamentary negotiation groups, viewer committees, and employees—to finalize their selections as soon as possible.

During the plenary meeting, the KCC also addressed the tenure of the public broadcaster board members.

Commissioner Ryu Shin-hwan stated, "I believe it is legally appropriate to uniformly terminate the terms of the outgoing board members upon the appointment of the new members."

Commissioner Yoon Seong-ok expressed a similar view, saying, "To ensure the authority and activities of the newly appointed members, I agree that the terms of the existing boards should be terminated."

Commissioner Ko Min-soo also shared his opinion, stating, "It is appropriate for the new members to begin their duties once the appointments are made following the recommendations. The reason is that the terms of the current KBS board members have already expired."

Commissioner Choi Soo-young remarked, "While I sympathize with the intent, I find it difficult to agree with distinguishing between a call to action and a recommendation."

Commissioner Lee Sang-geun, who was the sole dissenter, emphasized, "I believe that the terms of presidents or board members previously recognized by law should be guaranteed regardless of the introduction of new laws. I believe that replacing presidents or board members based on new laws should not be repeated, so I ask that the National Assembly consider measures such as revising the law."

KCC Chairman Kim Jong-cheol concluded the discussion by stating, "The position of our commission is to interpret the law such that the duties of the outgoing boards of the three public broadcasters will terminate at the point when the procedures for the appointment recommendations and board member appointments we approved today are completed."

The commissioners then discussed when the new boards should begin operations, but they presented differing opinions.

Commissioner Choi Soo-young argued that the fundamental principle should be for the boards to operate only once all recommending entities have completed their selections. Meanwhile, Commissioner Ryu Shin-hwan suggested that while the boards could operate once a majority is reached, the KCC should urge each recommending entity to complete their selections as soon as possible.

Amidst the various opinions expressed, Chairman Kim Jong-cheol summarized the commission's stance, stating, "We will make it our position to recommend that the boards begin operations once the new members reach a majority of the total seats."

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