Controversy Surrounding Impeachment of the New Chairman of the Broadcasting Communication Commission
A proposal for the impeachment of the new chairman of the Broadcasting Communication Commission, Jin-Sook Lee, presented by six opposition parties has sparked interest as it heads to the main session of the National Assembly. Unlike previous chairmen who resigned just before the impeachment vote, Lee expressed a willingness to await the Constitutional Court’s judgment. In response, opposition parties are preparing for all available actions, including a parliamentary inquiry. President Yoon Suk-yeol presented Lee with her appointment on the same day.
The impeachment proposal must be addressed within 24 to 72 hours after being introduced in the main session. Opposition parties plan to attempt the impeachment vote during the session on the following day. Lee, who was expected to resign before the impeachment was passed by the Assembly like her predecessors, met with journalists and stated, “Let’s wait and see.” She intends to await the Constitutional Court’s ruling. Even if the impeachment is passed and her duties are suspended, Lee will still receive her salary.
It remains uncertain whether Lee will choose to “hold out” due to the pending appointment of a new director of the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) next month. The Constitutional Court can conduct a judgment within 180 days of receiving the impeachment proposal.
Opposition parties plan to pressure Lee using all available means and continue the public opinion battle. Previously, seven opposition parties, including the Reform Party, submitted a demand for a parliamentary investigation into the control and monitoring of the press by the Yoon Suk-yeol government. If there is no agreement on the parliamentary investigation, the Speaker of the National Assembly can establish a special committee or refer the matter to the relevant standing committee, the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee. Representative Kim Hyun, the opposition’s committee handler, stated, “Even if the chairman’s duties are suspended or resigned, she can still be called as a witness in the parliamentary investigation. We will thoroughly investigate press control.”
The People Power Party strongly opposed these actions. Party leader Han Dong-hoon criticized the Democratic Party, saying they had trivialized the constitutional impeachment process, calling it a “malicious impeachment.” Floor leader Choo Kyung-ho also condemned the Democratic Party, holding a denunciation meeting before the main session and accusing them of conducting reckless and arbitrary impeachments without a serious legal basis as an act of violence and terrorism against national affairs.
On the same day, President Yoon presented Lee with her appointment at the Blue House. President Yoon shook hands with Lee and said, “Thank you for your hard work.”
By Um Ji-won, reporter (umkija@hani.co.kr), Go Han-sol, reporter (sol@hani.co.kr), and Shin Min-jeong, reporter (shin@hani.co.kr)