Oh Se-hoon: "Almost No One Drives While Listening to TBS... Time to Consider Restructuring"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. /Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory,' saying, "Nowadays, almost no one listens to Traffic Broadcasting while driving."

On the morning of the 7th, Mayor Oh held a New Year's press conference with the press corps at Seoul City Hall and said, "Most drivers use T-map while driving," adding, "If TBS were a corporation or a general media outlet, it would naturally be time to consider restructuring or business reorganization."

He continued, "TBS's financial independence is significantly low," pointing out, "KBS is about 50%, EBS about 60%, and TBS should be at a similar level."

He also questioned, "TBS currently operates three stations: TV, FM, and eFM. Have they visited the Korea Communications Commission and made plans to attract advertising?" He added, "Considering the necessity of Traffic Broadcasting, showing efforts to reconsider their position would allow Seoul City to set appropriate standards despite the low financial independence."

Regarding TBS's political bias, Mayor Oh said, "There is much talk about TBS's political bias, but my basic principle regarding the media is that even if they criticize Seoul City or the mayor, I take it as a tonic and an opportunity rather than feeling uncomfortable and trying to exert influence. I hope they understand Seoul City's sincere intentions. I also hope TBS will engage in in-depth reflection this year."

Meanwhile, during the 2022 budget allocation process, Seoul City set TBS's contribution at 25.3 billion won, a cut of 12.2 billion won from the previous year. However, during negotiations with the City Council, 6.7 billion won was added, resulting in a final allocation of 32 billion won.

Regarding this, Mayor Oh expressed dissatisfaction on Facebook on the 17th of last month, stating, "The effort to set Seoul City straight was largely diminished due to opposition from the council during the budget review process," adding, "A representative example is the TBS contribution budget."

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