President Yoon Presents Appointment Letter to Lee Jin-sook, Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission: "Thank You for Your Hard Work"

Opposition Proposes Impeachment of Lee Jin-sook... Yoon Presents Appointment Letter
Likely to Await Constitutional Court Decision Without Voluntary Resignation

President Yoon Suk-yeol is taking a commemorative photo after presenting the appointment letter to Lee Jin-sook, Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul on the 1st. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the afternoon of the 1st, President Yoon Suk-yeol presented the letter of appointment to Lee Jin-sook, Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, at the Freedom Hall of the Yongsan Presidential Office.

After presenting the letter of appointment to Chairperson Lee, President Yoon said, "Thank you for your hard work." He also gave a bouquet to Chairperson Lee's spouse and said, "Please support her well."

Although President Yoon appointed Chairperson Lee and Standing Commissioner Kim Tae-gyu the day before, Chairperson Lee went straight to her office at the Government Complex Gwacheon Communications Commission without the usual letter of appointment ceremony immediately after her appointment.

With the appointments of Chairperson Lee and Commissioner Kim, the Communications Commission met the minimum quorum of two members required for resolution and held a plenary session that afternoon to approve the recommendation and appointment of directors for public broadcasters such as KBS and MBC.

The opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, opposed this and reported an impeachment motion against Chairperson Lee to the National Assembly plenary session that day. The opposition, holding a majority of seats in the National Assembly, is expected to pass the impeachment motion on the 2nd.

If the impeachment motion is approved, Chairperson Lee's duties will be suspended until the Constitutional Court issues its ruling on the impeachment trial.

As President Yoon held the letter of appointment ceremony on the same day the opposition reported the impeachment motion, the conflict between the ruling and opposition parties is expected to intensify.

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, said at the Supreme Council meeting that day, "Is it possible for a person to commit a wrongdoing that leads to impeachment in just one day?" and questioned, "Wasn't it already decided to impeach Chairperson Lee, not because of any crime?"

Lee Dong-gwan and Kim Hong-il, former chairpersons, and Lee Sang-in, former acting chairperson, resigned voluntarily before the opposition's impeachment vote to prevent the Communications Commission from becoming dysfunctional due to the suspension of the chairperson's duties.

However, since Chairperson Lee completed the urgent agenda of approving the recommendation and appointment of public broadcaster directors, she is expected not to resign and to await the Constitutional Court's decision. The opposition is reportedly also considering a high possibility that the Constitutional Court may dismiss the impeachment motion.

Present at the appointment ceremony were Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Hong Cheol-ho, Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Kim Ju-hyun, Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs Park Chun-seop, Senior Secretary for Low Birthrate Response Yoo Hye-mi, and Chief of Security Kim Yong-hyun.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is seen heading to the reception room after presenting the letter of appointment to Lee Jin-sook, Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 1st. [Image source=Yonhap News]

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