Constitutional Court Rules Former Lawmaker Lee Jeong-hyun's Broadcasting Act Constitutional Complaint "Constitutional, Interference Must Be Prohibited"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Constitutional Court has ruled that the provision in the Broadcasting Act prohibiting regulation or interference in broadcast programming does not violate the Constitution.

On the 31st, the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the Broadcasting Act provision in a constitutional review filed by former lawmaker Lee Jeong-hyun, who was convicted for intervening in coverage related to the 'Sewol ferry disaster.'

Lee, who was serving as the Blue House Chief of Public Relations in 2014 when the Sewol ferry disaster occurred, was prosecuted for violating the Broadcasting Act after he called the KBS News Director and requested the removal of articles addressing government response and rescue issues from news editing. He was fined 10 million won last year.

Article 4, Paragraph 2 of the Broadcasting Act states, "No one shall impose any regulation or interference on broadcast programming except as provided by this Act or other laws." Violations are punishable by imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

In the first trial, the court sentenced Lee to one year in prison with a two-year probation, stating, "As the Chief of Public Relations, the actions were perceived by former Director Kim Si-gon as reflecting the President's intentions." The second trial acknowledged Lee's guilt but reduced the sentence to a fine of 10 million won, considering the motive to allow the Coast Guard to focus on rescue operations or to correct inaccurate reports. The Supreme Court finalized the ruling in January last year.

On this day, the Constitutional Court also pointed out, "This provision clearly prohibits any act by an external party to the broadcasting company that influences the free and independent decision-making of those involved in broadcast programming by making specific demands regarding programming."

It added, "Considering the history of collusion between power and broadcasting in our Broadcasting Act, the petitioner, a former Blue House Chief of Public Relations, directly calling the KBS News Director to intervene in news coverage of the Sewol ferry sinking constitutes interference with the freedom of broadcast programming," and confirmed the importance of strictly prohibiting interference with the freedom and independence of broadcast programming in its constitutional ruling.

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