National Assembly Science and ICT Committee Reports KBS President Park Min for Absence... "Attended Yoon-Presided Meeting"

Choi Min-hee, Chairperson of the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee [Photo by Yonhap News]

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Park Min, president of KBS, was reported to the prosecution for failing to appear at a National Assembly inquiry on current issues.

Choi Min-hee, chairperson of the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee, announced on the 8th, "We have reported Park Min, president of KBS, to the prosecution for failing to appear as a witness at the National Assembly inquiry on current issues despite being summoned."

Earlier, the committee delivered a witness appearance request to President Park Min, but he submitted a letter of absence and did not attend the inquiry held on the 25th of last month.

At that time, President Park stated in his letter of absence, "There is a serious concern that the independence of public broadcasting and freedom of the press could be severely infringed if the president of public broadcaster KBS appears as a witness before a standing committee of the National Assembly." However, the committee did not recognize this as a 'justifiable reason' and decided to report him.

Park Min, KBS President [Photo by Yonhap News]

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Chairperson Choi said in the complaint, "While Park Min ignored the summons to appear before the National Assembly, he attended meetings presided over by the president and actively responded by saying he would 'devote all organizational capabilities.'"

She continued, "Claiming that appearing as a witness before the legislative body representing the people infringes on the independence of public broadcasting, yet having no qualms about personally attending meetings presided over by the highest authority, the president, shows a double standard."

Chairperson Choi stated, "He will be held strictly accountable for arbitrarily ignoring the National Assembly's summons to appear as a witness," and added, "The investigative authorities must also conduct a thorough investigation."

According to Articles 2 and 15 of the Act on Testimony, Inspection, etc. in the National Assembly, a person summoned as a witness must comply, and if they fail to appear without justifiable reason, they must be reported under the name of the committee chairperson.

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