Lee Kang-taek Submits Resignation as TBS CEO... Seoul City "Decision on Acceptance to be Made Later"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Lee Kang-taek, the CEO of TBS who had been facing calls for resignation from the TBS labor union and others, submitted his resignation letter on the afternoon of the 15th. This comes five days after he announced his intention to resign on the 10th due to health reasons.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated, "We plan to decide whether to accept the resignation after conducting follow-up procedures such as investigating the CEO's misconduct."

According to TBS executive personnel regulations, the appointing authority (the Mayor of Seoul) must restrict resignation with honor for executives under investigation or prosecution for misconduct.

CEO Lee is currently under prosecution investigation for wage arrears, as he did not pay the internal performance bonus for 2020. Accordingly, the city will examine whether the wage arrears constitute misconduct that restricts resignation with honor.

However, this decision will be made through the city's own process regardless of the prosecution's investigation results, and the acceptance of the resignation is expected to be decided within this month. Once the resignation is accepted, TBS plans to hold a board meeting to appoint one of the directors as acting CEO.

Separately from the resignation acceptance process, an Executive Recommendation Committee (임추위) will be formed on the 17th to select a successor CEO. The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained that the formation of the 임추위 was a scheduled plan ahead of the expiration of the current CEO's term in February next year, regardless of Lee's resignation.

The TBS CEO is appointed by the Mayor of Seoul from at least two candidates recommended by the 임추위. The seven members of the 임추위 are recommended by the Mayor of Seoul (2 members), the TBS board of directors (2 members), and the Seoul Metropolitan Council (3 members), respectively.

A Seoul city official said, "It usually takes about two and a half months to recommend candidates," adding, "A new CEO is expected to be appointed around January next year."

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