KBS, CEO Park Min's First Day Sees Joo Jin-woo and Lee So-jung Leave, 'The Live' Removed from Schedule

Major News Program Anchors and Current Affairs Hosts Replaced
Press Union KBS Headquarters "Will Hold Legal Responsibility"

As soon as Park Min was inaugurated as the new president of KBS, the broadcaster notified anchor Lee So-jeong, who had been hosting 'News 9' for four years, and host Joo Jin-woo of 'Joo Jin-woo Live' that they would be stepping down. KBS 2TV's current affairs program 'The Live' was also removed from the schedule on the day of broadcast. The sudden notice sparked strong opposition from the KBS branch of the National Union of Mediaworkers.

[Photo by Joo Jin-woo SNS]

On the 13th, KBS announced that reporters Park Jang-beom and announcer Park Ji-won were selected as the new weekday anchors for the main news program 'News 9' airing on Channel 1. Anchor Lee So-jeong, who had been hosting 'News 9' for four years, reportedly received sudden notice of her departure the day before.

KBS also replaced the daily 5:05 PM radio program 'Joo Jin-woo Live' with 'Special 1 Radio Evening' starting that day. Instead of the original host Joo Jin-woo, KBS reporter Kim Yong-jun was appointed as the new host. On the same day, Joo Jin-woo wrote on his Facebook, "I was contacted by KBS this morning. They told me not to come to the company anymore, to stop broadcasting. I was cut from 'Joo Jin-woo Live.'"

KBS 'News 9' Anchor Sojeong Lee [Photo by KBS]

Additionally, KBS announced that the current affairs program 'The Live' airing on Channel 2 would be canceled starting that day. In the time slot of the program, reruns of dramas and comedy shows were scheduled. It is unusual to suddenly remove a program from the schedule on the day of broadcast without prior notice regarding the reason for cancellation.

Moreover, KBS made a large-scale replacement of anchors and hosts of major news and current affairs programs.

Weekend anchors Kim Hyun-kyung and Park So-hyun, and weekday anchors Choi Moon-jong and Hong Ju-yeon were appointed for 'News Plaza.' The sports news segment of 'News 9,' previously hosted by announcer Hong, will now be handled by announcer Lee Yoon-jung, who was the former anchor of 'News Plaza.' Additionally, 'Newsline W' will be anchored by reporter Lee Seung-gi, 'News 12' by reporter Lee Yoon-hee and announcer Lee Kwang-yeop, and weekend male anchor of 'News Plaza' will be announcer Lim Ji-woong. Announcer Kim Jae-hong will be the new anchor for 'News 6,' and announcer Jang Soo-yeon will be the new anchor for 'News Time.'

For current affairs programs, 'Sasa Geongeon' will be hosted by reporter Song Young-seok, 'Sunday Diagnosis' by reporter Kim Dae-hong, and 'Window on North and South Korea' by reporter Yang Ji-woo.

KBS stated, "With the inauguration of President Park Min, we have completely replaced the anchors of major news programs," adding, "By changing the anchors of major news and other programs, we will restore KBS's status and regain viewers' trust."

Press Union KBS Headquarters Demanding President Park Min's Resignation
[Photo by National Union of Mediaworkers KBS Headquarters]

On the other hand, the KBS branch of the National Union of Mediaworkers criticized the personnel changes and the cancellation of 'The Live,' saying, "Since President Park Min's first day, violations of the programming regulations and collective agreements have been occurring one after another." They pointed out that according to the labor-management collective agreement and programming regulations, the management must consult with staff about restructuring and notify the representative union in case of emergency scheduling, but these procedures were not followed.

Furthermore, the union stated, "It has been confirmed that before the appointment of the head of the radio center was even announced, a phone call was made to the PD in charge of 'Joo Jin-woo Live' to notify Joo Jin-woo's departure and instruct the production of a special program hosted by reporters from the news department." They also claimed, "The management deleted 'The Live' from the schedule without any discussion with the production team. Although it is currently just a deletion and replacement in the schedule, it can be seen as the beginning of the program's actual abolition."

They added, "These measures violate the Broadcasting Act, which guarantees the freedom and independence of broadcasting programming and stipulates that no one can regulate or interfere with broadcasting programming," and declared, "We will hold President Park Min's administration and the executives legally accountable."

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