"'Controversy Over Civil Complaint Orders' Chairman Must Resign"... Broadcast Communications Commission Meeting Disrupted

Broadcast Subcommittee Suspension... Ryu Heerim "Measures to Prevent Recurrence"
Opposition-Recommended Member Oxychan Throws Meeting Materials and Swears
Conflict Over Agenda Disclosure Causes Disruption at Full Meeting on 8th

Members of the opposition on the Korea Communications Standards Commission raised suspicions about Chairman Ryu Hee-rim’s alleged solicitation of complaints, causing the Broadcasting Review Subcommittee meeting to be suspended shortly after it began.

Ryu Hee-rim, Chairman of the Korea Communications Standards Commission
Photo by Yonhap News

On the 9th, Chairman Ryu issued a statement regarding the cancellation of the 2024 first regular meeting of the Broadcasting Subcommittee, which was disrupted by opposition-appointed members questioning his qualifications, saying, "I will hold them accountable."

Chairman Ryu stated, "This is an act that severely undermines the authority and dignity of the KCSC meetings, and furthermore, it is a serious incident that damages the political neutrality and independence of the KCSC and threatens the independent decision-making of each member in their reviews."

He added, "I deeply regret the unprecedented disgraceful incidents of verbal abuse and violence that occurred, and I will establish measures to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future."

Shortly after the meeting began that morning, opposition-appointed member Kim Yoo-jin requested to make a procedural statement, asserting, "The chairman involved in the controversy over solicited complaints should resign." Opposition-appointed member Ok Si-chan threw meeting materials, uttered curses, and left the meeting room.

The issue arose after suspicions surfaced that Chairman Ryu had mobilized family and acquaintances to file complaints with the KCSC regarding Newstapa’s report on the 'Kim Man-bae - Shin Hak-rim false interview' and related cited reports, leading to questions about his qualifications.

Chairman Ryu criticized, "Following member Kim’s disruption of the meeting proceedings, member Ok committed physical acts of violence and directly mentioned the chairman while using abusive language," calling it "a serious act of personal defamation and terror against the chairman."

The full commission meeting held the previous day also ended in disruption due to conflicts between ruling and opposition-appointed members over whether to disclose agenda items related to the same incident.

The advertising subcommittee meeting scheduled for that day was also not held due to a lack of quorum.

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