Opposition files motion to impeach new broadcasting watchdog chief

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Lee Jin-sook, the new chief of the Korea Communications Commission, pose after conferring a letter of appointment at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps

Opposition parties proposed an impeachment motion against Lee Jin-sook, the new chief of the state broadcasting watchdog, Thursday, accusing her of abusing her power in the appointment of board members at major public broadcasters.

The motion was introduced the day after Lee was appointed as the head of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). On that day, she held a meeting to appoint six new board members at the Foundation for Broadcast Culture, which is a shareholder of broadcaster MBC, and to recommend seven board members at the broadcaster KBS.

This is the fourth time the opposition bloc introduced an impeachment motion against the head or acting head of the KCC since late November. The previous three officials resigned before the National Assembly could vote on their respective impeachment motions.

The opposition claims that the appointments of Lee and her three predecessors, whom they view as pro-Yoon Suk Yeol figures, were intended to increase government influence over public broadcasters. However, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) argues that the impeachment attempts lack merit and blames the opposition for the dysfunction at the KCC due to the repeated appointments and resignations of its heads.

Six opposition parties, including the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), filed the motion, citing the KCC's unfair two-person decision-making structure. On Wednesday, only two out of the five required standing commissioners — Lee and KCC Vice Chairperson Kim Tae-gyu — attended the meeting to appoint the board members for the broadcasters.

They also alleged that Lee, a former reporter and executive at MBC, suppressed the company’s labor union and misused a corporate credit card when she served as the president of the broadcaster's Daejeon station.

“President Yoon, who once preached fairness, common sense, freedom and democracy, is threatening press freedom and democracy. Just two years after taking office, Yoon is pursuing a path to dictatorship. The end of an attempt to take over public broadcasters and deceive the public will be the beginning of Yoon’s downfall,” DPK floor leader Park Chan-dae said during the party’s general meeting.

Under the National Assembly Act, an impeachment motion must be put to a secret vote between 24 and 72 hours after the motion is reported to a plenary session.

Speaking to reporters on her way to work, Thursday, Lee said, “Let’s take time and see what happens.” Later in the day, Yoon conferred a letter of appointment to her at the presidential office.

Opposition party lawmakers leave a plenary session of the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday, as the ruling People Power Party starts a filibuster to prevent the passage of a cash handout bill proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. Yonhap

Contrary to the opposition's claim that Lee's right-wing views could harm public broadcasters, the PPP argues that the KCC chief is responsible for normalizing the public broadcasting and media industry.

PPP Chairman Han Dong-hoon said the DPK should halt frequent calls for impeachment.

“Impeachment is a heavy word that is considered too taboo to say out loud,” Han said during a party meeting. “The DPK has turned an important constitutional system into a political tool.”

PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho criticized the DPK’s impeachment proposals as being “habitual.”

The Assembly is expected to vote on Lee's impeachment as early as Friday. If the motion is passed, Lee will be suspended from duty until the Constitutional Court makes a ruling. The procedure is forecast to take at least four months, resulting in a long-term halt in the KCC's functions.

Along with filing the impeachment motion, the DPK reintroduced a cash handout bill aimed at providing between 250,000 won ($181) and 350,000 won to the entire population to stimulate spending. In response, the PPP has begun staging a filibuster to block the bill's passage.

A filibuster involves lawmakers holding the floor for extended periods as a way to prevent a vote or delay the passage of a bill. Under the National Assembly Act, a filibuster can be stopped after 24 hours if at least three-fifths or 180 lawmakers consent to it.

The DPK also plans to table a controversial pro-labor bill, better known as the “yellow envelope bill,” again as early as Friday. The yellow envelope bill seeks to restrict companies from pursuing damage claims related to legitimate labor union disputes.