Broadcasters resume protest on president-appointed chiefs

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- Barely two weeks after media unionists suspended their
strike, employees at two major television channels on Tuesday relaunched protests
against their new chiefs they claim to have been handpicked by President Lee
Myung-bak.
Since he took office 11 months ago, President Lee has been at odds with
broadcasters who accuse him of attempting to tame and control the media by
filling top positions with those favorable to the conservative government.
Tension initially flared last summer when Lee named a confidant to head cable
news channel YTN and replaced the KBS president appointed by the previous liberal
administration. Critics and unionists charged they were initial steps in the
president's ultimate plan to privatize state-run television channels, a move
strongly opposed by broadcasters while welcomed by market-dominating newspaper
companies.
Employees at KBS, South Korea's largest public broadcaster, said they will strike
from Tuesday after a majority vote in favor late Monday night. The move follows
the dismissal of KBS workers who opposed the appointment of new chief Lee
Byung-soon.
"Nearly 95.5 percent of those who participated in the vote agreed that the
disciplinary measure was unfair," said Min Pil-gyu, head of the KBS journalist's
union. "We will boycott work until the board withdraws its decision (to dismiss
the employees)."
More than 1,000 KBS workers are expected to join in the strike, Min added.
Unionists at cable channel YTN also resumed an office blockade against their
president Koo Bon-hong in protest at his choice of newsroom director.
Claiming Koo again "played puppet" to the government and ignored their opinion,
union members occupied Koo's office and blocked his entrance Monday. The
appointed director had not won the largest support among competitors in a vote by
newsroom journalists.
Media reforms have been a source of heated dispute here as broadcasters and
progressive activists oppose the plan under which large firms and major
newspapers would be allowed to own television networks.
The current law, established in the 1980s, prohibits cross-ownership of print
media and television stations to prevent monopoly in the media industry.
President Lee, a former CEO and strong believer in market principles, has been
seeking to amend the laws since his inauguration to spur competition between
media outlets and bolster the sectors he believes are falling behind in global
trends.
Dissenters call the plan "pro-conglomerate" because only three right-leaning
vernacular newspapers -- who already control nearly 70 percent of print media
circulation -- are said to have enough resources to enter the television
industry.
All of the three newspapers are considered pro-government.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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