Hansanghyeok Supports KBS License Fee Increase... On Park Wonsun Reporting Bias Controversy, "It's the Broadcaster's Authority"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] Hansanghyuk, the nominee for Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, on the 20th emphasized the need to raise the license fee, stating that "the financial structure of public broadcasting has reached a critical state." Regarding the attitudes of broadcasters toward the late Mayor Park Won-soon and the late General (retired) Baek Seon-yeop, he drew a clear line, saying, "It is a matter for broadcasters to handle within their responsibility and authority."

At the confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee on the same day, Hansanghyuk agreed with Rep. Woo Sang-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, who asked, "Isn't it time to raise the KBS license fee to an appropriate level?" by responding, "Yes."

Rep. Woo pointed out that the deficit of terrestrial broadcasters amounts to 70 billion won annually, stating, "If public broadcasting collapses, it will harm viewers through the loss of its value as a program production base and the quality of public programs." In response, Hansanghyuk said, "It is difficult to resolve the situation with the current regulatory relaxation measures," and added, "We have reached a point where we fundamentally need to reconsider the financial structure of public broadcasting."

When asked whether the focus of existing balanced development policies among media should shift from activating new media to terrestrial broadcasting, he said, "(Raising the license fee) will be considered a top priority," emphasizing, "Terrestrial broadcasting has been and still is a production base for high-quality Hallyu content, so support should be concentrated on that area."

Hansanghyuk drew a line regarding the bias in reports related to the late Mayor Park and General Baek, which opposition parties have repeatedly raised. He said, "Programming issues are entirely within the responsibility and authority of the broadcasters themselves," and added, "Evaluations will be made by viewers and the public." He also noted that content-related regulations are "the responsibility of the Korea Communications Standards Commission."

On the same day, Rep. Park Dae-chul of the United Future Party criticized KBS, MBC, and YTN for covering Mayor Park's funeral but not properly reporting on General Baek's funeral, claiming, "This infringes on the public's right to know and shows partisan bias." Rep. Jeong Hee-yong of the same party also pointed out that the coverage of Mayor Park and General Baek lacked balance.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.