Lee Jin-sook, the Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), held a press briefing on the 18th at the KCC office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, regarding the reconsideration request for the KCC Establishment and Operation Act.
On the 26th, the KCC held a general meeting and decided to impose a 30 million won fine on YTN for merging with its subsidiary YTN Plus without obtaining the necessary approval.
The KCC stated that while a merger without change approval constitutes a breach of the Broadcasting Act, they considered factors such as potential inconvenience to viewers due to business suspension, the oversight in the approval application due to work inexperience, and the absence of intent, choosing to impose a fine instead.
In 2020, as part of the re-approval conditions, there was a regulation that mandated programs to disclose receipt of sponsorships at least three times. The KCC issued a corrective order to MBC for violating this rule by announcing sponsorships only twice in some cases.
It was noted by the KCC that the violation by MBC was minor and resulted from an external production company’s mistake, concluding it wasn’t a significant fault. They also demanded improved measures to prevent recurrence of the same issue. A corrective order was also decided for Gyeongin Broadcasting (KINTV) for breaching a rule prohibiting the disposal of shares by new shareholders within three years.
Additionally, the KCC approved the renewal of licenses for 14 subsidiaries of the integrated cable broadcasting operator D’Live, along with D’Live Gangnam Cable TV, D’Live Gyeonggi-Dongbu Cable TV, and South Incheon Broadcasting.