Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Chairman Choi Min-hee said, “I will recommend Democratic Party members for the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Committee.”

Choi Min-hee, Chairman of the Committee on Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications [Photo by Yonhap News]

The Democratic Party announced that they will proceed with recommending a member for the parliamentary committee on broadcasting and communications that they have been refusing for a while.

Choi Min-hee, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, said at a full committee meeting of the committee on the morning of the 21st, “If the Democratic Party recommends a member for the broadcasting and communications committee, will the People Power Party, as the ruling party, play its role and appoint the member recommended by the Democratic Party?” He repeatedly questioned, “I remember that Choi Hyeong-doo, the Secretary-General of the People Power Party, gave a very positive answer.”

Chairman Choi said, “We hope for the restoration of the 5-member system, and we faithfully conveyed the part mentioned by the ruling party’s secretary to the leadership.” He said, “The Democratic Party’s leadership decided to recommend a broadcasting and communications committee member, believing in the principle of faithfulness and sincerity.” In particular, Chairman Choi said, “We will proceed with the process of appointing a broadcasting and communications committee member recommended by the Democratic Party through public recruitment.”

The Broadcasting and Communications Commission is composed of 2 members recommended by the President, and 3 members recommended by the National Assembly. The National Assembly recommends 2 members, while the ruling party recommends 1 member. However, as the National Assembly’s recommendation has not been made so far, the Broadcasting and Communications Commission has been running with only 2 members recommended by the President.

The People Power Party showed a stance of distancing itself from the recommendation of members for the broadcasting and communications committee by the National Assembly for now. People Power Party member Choi Hyeong-doo said, “In order to restore the 5-member system in the broadcasting and communications committee, the impeachment trial of the chairman of the committee, Lee Jin-sook, which has been transferred to the Constitutional Court, should be completed, and it should proceed immediately towards the restoration of the 5-member system.”

In other words, it is explained that the appointment of the National Assembly’s recommended members should be made after the impeachment trial of Lee Jin-sook, the chairman currently suspended from duties, is completed. It is expected to take up to 6 months for the conclusion of the impeachment trial of the chairman.

People Power Party member Park Jeong-hoon said, “It is incomprehensible that the Democratic Party does not express any sense of responsibility or apology for the three previous impeachments of the broadcasting and communications committee chairpersons,” and added, “I think the Democratic Party should feel a sense of responsibility.”