Court Dismisses Lawsuit by TBS Union Seeking to Reverse Revocation of Public Institution Status

A lawsuit filed by the labor union of the Seoul-based media foundation TBS, seeking to cancel the government's decision to revoke its status as a designated public institution, has been dismissed.
The court ruled that the union lacked the legal standing to file the lawsuit.
The Seoul Administrative Court, under the 11th Administrative Division (Presiding Judge Kim Jun-young), delivered the dismissal ruling today (July 10) in the case brought by the TBS union and some employees against the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, demanding the cancellation of the notification to revoke the designation of the local government-funded institution.
Previously, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety issued the 2024 Third Quarter Notification on Designated Local Government-Funded Institutions on September 11, 2024, which revoked the status of TBS as a designated institution.
This followed the Seoul Metropolitan Government's decision in December 2022 to abolish the ordinance that served as the legal basis for financial support for TBS and its subsequent request to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to revoke the institution's designation.
Although the union and employees filed the lawsuit in December 2024, the court determined that they did not have the necessary standing as plaintiffs.
The court pointed out, "The counterparty to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's notification is TBS. Even if this notification causes TBS to lose the legal basis for receiving contributions from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, leading to a decrease in revenue, the impact on the working conditions, freedom of broadcasting, and programming rights of the union or its employees is merely an indirect effect." The court added, "It is difficult to view the notification as directly infringing upon the legal interests of the plaintiffs."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.