MBC under investigation
Investigators search offices of the Foundation for Broadcast Culture, MBC's largest shareholder, in Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap
Prosecutors search homes of execs linked to spy agency
By Jung Min-ho
Prosecutors searched the homes and offices of three current and former executives of public broadcaster MBC Monday over allegations that they colluded with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to remove journalists and celebrities who were critical of then President Lee Myung-bak.
According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the targets were former CEO and President Kim Jae-chul, sitting Vice President Baik Jong-moon and Jun Young-bae, head of an MBC affiliate.
The Foundation for Broadcast Culture, MBC’s largest shareholder, and the home of the NIS agent who allegedly played a key role as a middleman were also searched.
The prosecution said it has confiscated their phones, documents and computers.
Prosecutors believe they removed journalists and celebrities with liberal political views from MBC programs at the request of the NIS under the right-wing government.
Choi Seung-ho, former MBC producer of “PD Notebook,” an investigative television program, was one of the victims.
The star producer, who is best known for the report about U.S. beef and mad cow disease, which resulted in massive candlelight protests against the Lee government’s plans to reopen Korea to American beef imports, was fired in 2012 without any proper reason after Kim took the top post.
During his term (2010-2013), talented journalists and producers faced the same fate and some were assigned to irrelevant jobs.
The prosecution reportedly secured the evidence that Kim and the NIS official discussed ways to “correct MBC” and Baik and Jun played a major role in putting these into action.
Last month, it was reported that Won Sei-hoon, who led NIS from February 2009 to March 2013, gave the order to come up with strategies to “correct MBC” in an apparent attempt to help the Lee government.
Members of the MBC labor union hoped that the next government would rectify all the problems, but their hopes were crushed when Park Geun-hye from the same conservative party beat Moon Jae-in in the 2012 presidential election.
Kim’s successor, Ahn Kwang-han, carried on his legacy until Kim Jang-gyeom took the post this past February, one month before Park was ousted over the influence-peddling scandal.
Union members have been on strike since Sept. 4, demanding the resignation of the current leader.
Soon, the current and former MBC executives involved in the government’s alleged media control scheme will be questioned by the prosecution.