Yang Seung-dong, KBS President, "License Fee Adjustment Plan to Enhance Management Transparency"

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Yang Seung-dong, president of KBS, stated on the 1st, "We will properly achieve management transparency, expanded viewer participation, fair news, and disaster broadcasting that protects the lives and safety of the people, all included in the license fee adjustment plan."

On the same day, President Yang held a press conference at the KBS annex in Yeouido and said, "As we have experienced various disasters including COVID-19, the public broadcasting's role in delivering public information has become more important than ever. Amid the expansion of massive commercial media such as global online video services (OTT), I thought that the public values of broadcasting, such as fairness and diversity, should not be neglected when threatened," he said.

Earlier, the KBS board of directors approved a plan to raise the KBS TV license fee from the current 2,500 KRW per month to 3,800 KRW, an increase of 1,300 KRW. This adjustment plan will be reviewed by the Korea Communications Commission and then finalized by the National Assembly.

Regarding criticism about fairness and inefficient management, President Yang said, "KBS has at times been swayed by political power and has failed to follow its own path due to the influence of capital," and "the license fee adjustment plan includes measures such as expanding viewer involvement in news, strengthening fact-checking, instituting news source disclosure, and enhancing journalist education," he emphasized.

Regarding the pursuit of a license fee increase without abolishing advertising on KBS 2TV, he argued, "If advertising is completely abolished, a loss of 150 billion KRW will occur again, which would lead to an additional 1,500 KRW increase in the license fee. Also, if advertising is completely stopped, KBS content would disappear from the market, causing damage," he claimed.

When asked about suspicions that the license fee increase push is a means for reappointment, he replied, "I think you will know around the end of my term."

Meanwhile, if KBS succeeds in adjusting the license fee, it plans to raise EBS's license fee allocation rate from the current 3% to 5%.

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