Kim Tae-gyu, acting chairman of the Korea Communications Commission. / Photo = News 1
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) appealed two days after suspending the appointment of new directors of MBC’s major shareholder Broadcasting Culture Promotion Company (BCPC).
On the 28th, the KCC submitted an appeal to the Seoul Administrative Court regarding the suspension of the enforcement of the appointment of BCPC’s new directors. This comes after the Seoul Administrative Court’s decision on the 26th regarding the enforcement suspension application for the BCPC’s new director appointment decision. The enforcement suspension was requested by Kim Ki-joong and Park Sun-ah, directors of the BCPC along with Chairman Kwon Tae-sun, who has a pro-government inclination. The KCC stated that they will immediately appeal after the enforcement order on the same day.
The court stated, “It is deemed that there is an urgent need to suspend the effect of the appointment decision to prevent irreparable damages to the applicants, and it is unlikely to have a significant impact on public interest due to the enforcement suspension of the appointment decision.” As a result, the newly appointed directors cannot start their term until the final court decision, and the terms of the existing directors are extended. It is expected that it will take 1-2 years until the final ruling.
Previously, Chairman Yi Jin-sook and Vice Chairman Kim Tae-gyu held a closed-door plenary session on their inauguration day, October 31, and decided on the appointment of public broadcasting directors. At that time, the chairman appointed six out of nine directors from the liberal faction of the BCPC.
The court pointed out that the appointment decision for BCPC directors made based on deliberations and decisions of only two members would undermine the legislative purposes of the KCC law and the BCPC law by not reflecting political diversity in the commission composition to achieve the legislative purposes of broadcasting freedom, fairness, public interest, protection of national interests, and enhancement of public welfare.