KBS New President Candidate: Park Min, Former Editorial Writer of Munhwa Ilbo

The KBS board of directors has nominated Park Min (60), former editorial writer of Munhwa Ilbo, as the 26th president.

The KBS board announced on the 13th that at an emergency board meeting held on the morning of the 13th, Park, the former editorial writer, was selected as the final candidate through a vote. Once the official nomination letter for the KBS president is received by the Ministry of Personnel Management, a confirmation hearing will follow, after which the president will make the appointment.

Candidate Park joined Munhwa Ilbo as a reporter in 1991 and served as head of the social affairs department, political affairs department, and editorial bureau. He recently worked as an editorial writer. He graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in political science, served as the 8th president of the Legal Journalists Club from 2019 to 2022, and is currently the 12th president of the Gwanak Journalists Association, a group of Seoul National University alumni in journalism.

The nomination was led by pro-government board members. Chairman Seo Gi-seok and six other directors strongly recommended the appointment of the presidential candidate. Five directors classified as opposition members (Kim Chan-tae, Ryu Il-hyung, Lee Sang-yo, Jeong Jae-kwon, and Jo Sook-hyun) argued that the recruitment process was invalid because the final candidate was not decided on the originally scheduled date of the 4th, but this was not accepted. In protest, the opposition directors left the board meeting.

Earlier, the KBS board had narrowed down the candidates to three?Park, Choi Jae-hoon, a reporter at KBS Busan Broadcasting Station, and Lee Young-pung, former head of KBS New Business Planning Department?after document screening of 12 applicants for the president position. A vote to select the final candidate was held on the 4th, but no candidate received a majority, delaying the selection. At that time, Chairman Seo Gi-seok announced that a runoff vote would be held two days later. The opposition insisted on holding the vote immediately, but their request was not granted, leading them to claim the recruitment process was invalid.

Subsequently, former director Kim Jong-min from the pro-government side resigned, and former Monthly Chosun reporter Lee Dong-wook was appointed as a replacement director. Reporter Choi, who was a candidate for the runoff vote, withdrew from the candidacy.

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