President Yoon Approves Dismissal of Han Sang-hyuk as Broadcasting Commissioner... Han Pledges Legal Action (Summary)

Presidential Office: "Chairman Han Unable to Perform Duties Normally"
Chairman Han: "Will Respond Legally Without Delay"

President Yoon Suk-yeol approved the dismissal of Han Sang-hyuk, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, on the 30th. However, Chairman Han opposed the dismissal and announced plans for legal action.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, the presidential spokesperson's office stated in a written release, "According to the indictment and hearing materials regarding Chairman Han Sang-hyuk, he completely failed to fulfill his duties as the person responsible for directing and supervising the directors and examiners of the Korea Communications Commission, who were arrested and indicted on charges including manipulating evaluation scores during the TV Chosun license renewal review process."

They continued, "When Chairman Han received a report from staff that there were no issues with TV Chosun in the license renewal review committee's evaluation results, he expressed difficulty in accepting the score tally by saying, 'This is maddening, it will get noisy, I will get some criticism,' thereby compromising his fairness as the Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission."

The spokesperson's office added, "After being informed that 'some examiners in the TV Chosun license renewal review committee were asked to retroactively revise TV Chosun's evaluation scores, causing some items to fall below the passing threshold,' Chairman Han deceived other commissioners who were unaware of the manipulation during the full meeting of the Korea Communications Commission, obstructing official duties through deception to ensure a 'conditional license renewal' decision for TV Chosun."

They also stated, "He directly ordered the inclusion of A, a member of the Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media who had consistently advocated for the cancellation of TV Chosun's license renewal, as a member of the TV Chosun license renewal review committee, abusing his authority as Chairman by bypassing consultation procedures with other standing commissioners."

The spokesperson's office further pointed out, "Finally, Chairman Han abused his authority by arbitrarily shortening the validity period of TV Chosun's license renewal from four years to three, ignoring internal standards set by the Korea Communications Commission. When media investigations revealed the post hoc manipulation of TV Chosun's evaluation scores, he ordered the creation and distribution of a false press release stating that 'the Korea Communications Commission had no involvement in the evaluation of TV Chosun's scores,' thereby instructing the fabrication of false official documents."

They explained, "By violating his command and supervisory responsibilities as Chairman, he caused an unprecedented situation where three people were arrested and indicted, and due to his direct involvement in serious crimes leading to criminal prosecution, he reached a state where normal duties as Chairman were impossible, resulting in his dismissal."

However, Chairman Han stated regarding his dismissal, "I cannot accept the entirety of the charges (filed by the prosecution) and will continue to contest them."

Meeting with reporters at the Government Complex Gwacheon in the afternoon, Chairman Han said, "My intention to complete my term remains unchanged, but circumstances did not allow it, so this happened."

He added, "Even at the stage of the warrant review, the possibility of dispute was acknowledged. Therefore, I have no shame in that regard and will continue to contest it. Regarding the dismissal, it was based on the indictment and confirmed as guilty, applying general provisions under the National Public Service Act, but from a legal perspective, I believe it is inappropriate. I will prepare quickly and promptly file a request to cancel the dismissal and a suspension of effect application simultaneously. Since this is an issue I must face at the Korea Communications Commission, I will respond resolutely."

He said, "Since the Korea Communications Commission is a regulatory agency, on one hand, it is criticized for regulating too harshly, and on the other hand, it is criticized for not regulating despite having authority. It inevitably faces criticism and blame on all matters. I ask for constructive alternatives and criticism with affection."

Kim Hyun, a standing commissioner of the Korea Communications Commission, also released a personal statement on the same day, saying, "Dismissing someone for violating duties of sincerity, kindness, fairness, and maintaining dignity solely based on indictment violates the presumption of innocence principle under Article 27, Paragraph 4 of the Constitution. This must stop."

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