Yoon Likely to Push Through Lee Dong-gwan's Appointment Today... Government to Fully Launch 'Broadcast Reform'

Failure to Reach Agreement on Confirmation Hearing Report
Deadline for Resubmission Request Passed
"Minimize KCC Work Gap... Cannot Delay Any Longer"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to appoint Lee Dong-gwan, the nominee for chairman of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), as the new chairman as early as the 25th. The ruling and opposition parties have failed to reach an agreement on adopting a report regarding the nominee, and the deadline for requesting resubmission has passed. The presidential office holds the position that the appointment cannot be delayed further to minimize the operational gap at the KCC.

According to political circles on the 25th, President Yoon plans to proceed with the appointment of the new KCC chairman according to the proper procedures. Since the deadline for requesting resubmission ended yesterday, President Yoon can make the appointment at any time.

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

The ruling and opposition parties clashed over the nominee’s suitability until the day before the resubmission request deadline. The Democratic Party of Korea submitted a report expressing an 'unsuitable' opinion and demanded the withdrawal of the nomination, while the People Power Party insisted that the report should contain a 'suitable' opinion.

The presidential office believes that the appointment of the new KCC chairman must be expedited as Acting Chairman Kim Hyo-jae’s term expired on the 23rd. Despite more than a year since the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the 'public broadcasting reform' efforts, aimed at establishing fairness and public trust in the media, have been delayed for a long time, and no progress has been made on KCC-related projects and policies aligned with the government’s administrative agenda. A presidential office official stated, "We hope that starting with the normalization of the organization, a media environment that the public can trust will be established."

Another factor making it impossible to delay the nominee’s appointment further is that both Acting Chairman Kim and Standing Commissioner Kim Hyun have completed their terms and retired. With the '5th KCC' effectively concluded, appointing the nominee will give a favorable advantage in forming the '6th KCC.' The KCC consists of five members, including the chairman and vice chairman: two members, including the chairman, are recommended by the president, two by the opposition party, and one by the ruling party.

The Democratic Party’s slow pace in recommending candidates for standing commissioner is also interpreted as reflecting the government’s broadcasting reform intentions. The appointment of Choi Min-hee, a former lawmaker recommended by the opposition party as the successor to former Vice Chairman Ahn Hyung-hwan, whose term ended in March, has not been made.

However, forcibly appointing the nominee is expected to lead to considerable repercussions. Some anticipate that recent personnel hearings related to President Yoon’s appointments, as well as pending bills linked to national policy tasks in the National Assembly, will be affected. This suggests that the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties may worsen, with the Democratic Party already accusing the ruling party of not engaging in cooperation.

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