Lee Dong-gwan Hearing, Ruling Party Calls Him "Right Person" vs Opposition Accuses "Media Control" Dispute (Comprehensive)

18th National Assembly Science and ICT Committee, Hearing for Candidate Lee Dong-gwan
Democratic Party Criticizes "Biased Media Views"
Ruling Party Says "Opposition Labels Him as 'Broadcasting Takeover Technician'"

On the 18th, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the qualifications and suitability of Lee Dong-gwan, the nominee for Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, during the parliamentary confirmation hearing. The Democratic Party of Korea attacked him as an "inappropriate nominee," raising allegations that he was involved in attempts to control the media during the Lee Myung-bak administration and accusations of school violence involving his children. The People Power Party countered by calling it "political attacks by the opposition." The hearing was dominated more by verbal exchanges between the parties than by thorough verification, as many related witnesses, reference persons, and documents were absent.

Lee Dong-kwan, nominee for Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, is speaking at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 18th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Democratic Party continued its offensive in the afternoon hearing regarding allegations that Lee, while serving as the Blue House spokesperson and senior secretary for public relations during the Lee Myung-bak administration, led efforts to control the media by mobilizing the National Intelligence Service and others.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee In-young pointed out Lee's biased view of the media, referencing negative results from public opinion polls conducted by journalist associations regarding Lee's appointment. Lee said, "Despite his involvement in journalist association activities when he was at a media company, there is strong opposition to his appointment. In my view, there is a critical assessment that he led media suppression during the Lee Myung-bak administration," adding, "He attempted to understand the tendencies and editorial lines of media executives, requested audits of KBS over biased reporting on mad cow disease, pushed for targeted prosecution, and promoted the privatization of YTN shares."

He continued, "If the nominee had a slightly different judgment about the media, the evaluation would not have deteriorated like this," and criticized, "Isn't the nominee's view of the media somewhat different from that of the general public?" He added, "The nominee says he did these things to level the playing field, but shouldn't he reflect on whether his personal view of the media is biased toward one side? These are probably the reasons for the critical evaluations."

Questions from the opposition regarding Lee's alleged media control had already been raised once in the morning session.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jung claimed, "About 30 National Intelligence Service documents that Lee Dong-gwan, then Blue House spokesperson, received or requested were found, and among those, nine were confirmed to have been executed," adding, "I received reports that the NIS mainly contacted the Office of the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, the Office of the Senior Secretary for Public Relations, and the Office of the Senior Secretary for Security." Lawmaker Min Hyung-bae said, "The nominee called former KBS President Lee Byung-soon in 2008 to request a change of morning broadcast hosts. If this is proven through witnesses during the National Assembly audit, he should resign as chairman of the Communications Commission."

Candidate for Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, Lee Dong-gwan, is moving to submit his oath statement at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 18th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The People Power Party focused on defending the nominee, calling the opposition's 'media control' accusations a form of stigmatization.

Lawmaker Ha Young-je asked Lee in the afternoon, "Have you ever been investigated for media control allegations?" When Lee answered, "Never," Ha followed up, "Have you ever heard yourself being called a 'media control technician'?" Ha then asked, "Why do you think the opposition is trying to brand you as a 'media control technician'?" Lee replied, "From the opposition's perspective, they have to approach aggressively, so I think this is a continuous frame to discredit me."

During the hearing, Jang Je-won, a People Power Party member of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, said, "Since the nominee's appointment was announced, he has been subjected to insulting remarks such as being called an indescribable 'media control technician' by the political circles," and criticized the Democratic Party, saying, "I wonder if the thief feels guilty or if this is their last desperate attempt to hold onto their vested interests."

In the morning session, there were numerous demands for the submission of materials to investigate allegations that Lee exerted undue influence on the school regarding his child's school violence case.

Lawmaker Min Hyung-bae said, "The child's school violence issue is an important topic in today's hearing," and criticized, "Since 2010, there have been numerous complaints and accusations, but related documents are not being provided. Neither family nor personal documents are submitted due to lack of consent for personal information. Can this hearing be conducted properly under these circumstances?"

Fellow party member Jung Pil-mo also expressed regret, saying, "It is beyond regretful," and criticized, "244 documents were not submitted. The response was just a single line saying 'cannot provide' citing personal information, and the documents are irrelevant. How can verification be done?" Opposition party whip Jo Seung-rae pointed out that Lee's explanation and the testimony of the homeroom teacher at Hanago School regarding the child's school violence are contradictory, and requested, "Please have the reference person appear today at least."

When Democratic Party lawmakers heavily criticized the insufficient submission of materials, ruling party whip Park Sung-joong responded, "The nominee's hearing has over 7,000 document requests, making it impossible to handle," adding, "This is three times the amount compared to when former Chairman Han Sang-hyuk was in office."

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