Oh Se-hoon on opposition to 'TBS educational broadcasting transition'... "Are there really drivers who listen to traffic information?"

"The thief feels guilty"

Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor. Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, criticized the backlash within TBS against his plan to convert TBS into an educational broadcasting station, saying, "It seems like a thief feeling guilty about his own feet."

On the 18th, on KBS Radio's 'Choi Young-il's Current Affairs Headquarters,' Oh explained his plan for TBS, saying, "This is not something I can decide alone. I intend to discuss and decide through active debates with the newly formed city council on how to best change TBS's functions."

Regarding the controversy over the TBS restructuring, he said, "There is a big misunderstanding. Because there is one program that is politically somewhat biased, it seems to cause even greater misunderstandings. They launch aggressive criticisms as if this plan was made because of that broadcast," he pointed out.

He continued, "If you think rationally, are there really drivers who listen to and refer to the traffic information provided by TBS?" and argued, "The current era's trends do not require operating this broadcasting station (TBS) according to its original purpose."

In response to criticism that "there is EBS, so why try to make TBS an educational broadcaster," Oh said, "Although there is EBS, Seoul needs its own educational broadcasting. The more, the better," adding, "So I proposed that developing it for such a function would be better."

He also rebutted, "The labor union issued a statement asking if I intended to eliminate current affairs and cultural programs, but that is a premature claim."

Earlier, the TBS Journalists Association, PD Association, and others issued a joint statement on the 17th targeting Oh's plan, calling it "a delusion that power can manipulate the media at will," and criticized, "Oh candidate should immediately stop the public broadcasting chief and media suppression behavior reminiscent of military dictatorship regimes."

The National Union of Mediaworkers TBS branch and TBS Labor Union also released a joint statement on the 16th, opposing the plan by saying, "The transition to educational broadcasting means depriving TBS of its current affairs and news functions," and "If they try to change TBS's role simply because they dislike a particular host, we will not remain silent."

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