Broadcast unions challenge Lee's media shake-up

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak's ongoing shake up of South Korean media is being challenged by employees at major broadcasters who accuse the administration of silencing unfriendly press.

The employee's union at cable news network YTN filed suit Thursday against
management over punitive actions taken against some of its members. The move came
after scores of YTN reporters staged a 90 day sit-in at the entrance to YTN
headquarters blocking newly appointed chief Gu Bon-hong from entering his office.
YTN, a majority stake of which is owned by the government, last week penalized
employees who led the protests, firing six of them. Among the six who were
dismissed was union president and former anchor Noh Jong-myeon. Others were
suspended and given warnings or pay cuts.
The conservative Lee government in August set out to reshuffle the heads of
several public broadcasters, including YTN, national broadcaster KBS, and Arirang
TV, an English cable station, replacing them with individuals more favorably
disposed towards the incumbent government.
Lee's actions were largely perceived as an attempt to change the direction of
their coverage, believed to have been influenced by the decade-long rule of the
two previous liberal administrations.
The YTN workers filed complaints early Thursday with the Seoul Central District
Court, claiming the appointment of Gu was illegal and thus the punitive actions
against the union members should be nullified.
Meanwhile, former KBS chief Jung Yun-joo, who was recently ousted by the
government, is facing trial after prosecutors indicted him for allegedly causing
substantial financial losses to the company.
MBC, another major national broadcaster, is also currently in the middle of a
court battle with the government.
The broadcaster is awaiting a ruling by an appeals court over prosecutors'
accusations that it exaggerated the risk of mad cow disease from U.S. beef
imports in one of its trademark investigative news programs in April. Months of
often violent street protests started soon after the program aired to denounce
the government's decision to resume the beef imports.
An annual parliamentary probe into the Korea Press Foundation and Korea Broadcast
Advertising Corp. scheduled on Thursday was temporarily halted due to protests by
the National Union of Media Workers, demanding media's independence from the
government.
The National Union of Media Workers, comprised of a majority of journalists
nationwide, is scheduled to hold a three-day vote next week to decide whether to
go on strike.