Kim Eo-jun to Oh Se-hoon, who cut TBS budget by 12.3 billion won: "Please come out on News Factory"

"Welcome to Cuts After Allowing Commercial Ads"
Kim Eo-jun, 15 Minutes Late for Live Broadcast That Day

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and broadcaster Kim Eo-jun.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun requested Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who drastically cut the budget for TBS (Traffic Broadcasting Service) appearance fees for next year, to appear on his program "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory."

On the 2nd, during a conversation with Kim In-ho, chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, on TBS's "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory," Kim said, "If Mayor Oh Se-hoon allows TBS to run commercial advertisements and cuts the budget, it would be very welcome," adding, "The TBS FM channel cannot air commercial advertisements and does not receive broadcasting development funds."

Chairman Kim suggested to Kim Eo-jun, "There is talk that Mayor Oh should take the lead in creating a financial foundation by allowing commercial advertisements and that budget cuts would be justified," and proposed inviting the mayor to the program. Kim responded, "I hope he comes, Mayor. Because we also have many difficulties," expressing his concerns.

Even after finishing the interview with Chairman Kim, Kim Eo-jun repeatedly said, "Chairman, please make it possible to run commercial advertisements," and added, "We are unable to receive advertisements, so if the budget is completely cut, there is no way out." Chairman Kim replied, "I will suggest that the mayor communicate with TBS as well."

During the interview, Chairman Kim pointed out, "There has never been a time when the Seoul city budget was prepared without communication with the council," and added, "This budget issue is causing various problems."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is announcing the 2022 Seoul city budget at the Seoul City Hall briefing room on the morning of the 1st.
Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, Seoul City submitted a budget proposal to the city council, cutting next year's TBS appearance fees from 37.5 billion won this year by about 12.3 billion won to approximately 25.2 billion won.

At a press conference the day before, Mayor Oh stated the reason for the cut: "For TBS to provide unfiltered criticism and alternative proposals on government or Seoul city policies with the power of independent media, financial independence must come first, and that power comes from advertising revenue."

Starting in 1990 as the Traffic Broadcasting Headquarters under Seoul City, TBS became an independent foundation separate from Seoul City in February last year, but still relies on Seoul City's appearance fees for over 70% of its income.

Meanwhile, Kim was about 20 minutes late for the live broadcast of "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory" on the 2nd. In response, announcer Jung Yeon-joo stepped in and continued the broadcast for about 15 minutes. This led to a flood of inquiries on TBS and TBS YouTube boards, such as "Has Kim Eo-jun stepped down?" and "Did Mayor Oh Se-hoon cut him?" Kim appeared late afterward and said, "I was late. I won't be late again this year. I don't know about next year."

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