DP files impeachment motion against broadcasting czar Lee Dong-kwan

Politics

Published: 09 Nov. 2023, 16:32

DP files impeachment motion against broadcasting czar Lee Dong-kwan

Lee Dong-kwan, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), speaks to reporters after the Democratic Party (DP) filed a motion to impeach him at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The liberal Democratic Party (DP) filed a motion to impeach Lee Dong-kwan, the new head of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the state broadcasting watchdog, on Thursday.

DP floor spokesperson Yoon Young-deok said after a general meeting at the National Assembly that the party had adopted a platform to impeach KCC czar Lee and two prosecutors.

The DP reported the impeachment motion at a plenary session later Thursday. After an impeachment motion is reported to the National Assembly, a secret ballot must occur within 72 hours. The vote could take place as early as Friday.

The DP holds a majority of 168 seats in the National Assembly, meaning it could carry the votes along as a majority of 150 approvals would be needed.

Regarding the DP's plans to impeach him, KCC Chairman Lee told reporters before a plenary session of the National Assembly Thursday, "I have not committed any violations, but the DP is pulling numbers to try to impeach me."

Lee said he suspects that the DP is pulling out the impeachment motion and "opposing preparations to crackdown on fake news because it is interfering with their own election campaign," ahead of next Aprils general elections.

He warned that the "DP will be impeached by the public opinion."

If the DP's motion is passed, Lee could become the second member of Yoon Suk Yeol's Cabinet to be impeached, following Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min. This is the third time an impeachment motion has been submitted to the parliament, following Interior Minister Lee and, more recently, former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup.

The DP has called for KCC Chairman Lee to resign over his heavy-handed management of the KCC and his alleged prior press censorship.

The DP has criticized the KCC's attempt to dismiss Kwon Tae-sun, chairperson of the Foundation for Broadcast Culture, the majority shareholder of public broadcaster MBC, seen as a part of restructuring the board overseeing the management of public broadcasting in favor of the government. It noted that several courts, including the Seoul High Court, recently suspended Kwon's dismissal by the KCC in August.

President Yoon appointed Lee to head the KCC in August, despite controversy over his son's alleged bullying in high school in 2011 and allegations that he had exercised undue influence over state broadcaster KBS and personnel affairs as a presidential secretary.

Lee, a former Dong-A Ilbo reporter, served as a former Blue House spokesperson and senior presidential secretary for press affairs under the Lee Myung-bak administration from 2008 to 2010.

In turn, Lee has said the allegations of his son's school bullying were distorted and that his son and alleged victim remain friends.

Lee served on Yoon's presidential election campaign committee as chief of the special media communications committee in 2021 and recently as the president's special adviser for external relations.

He replaced Han Sang-hyuk, the former chairman of the KCC appointed under the previous administration, who was indicted on charges of involvement in the alleged manipulation of scores of conservative cable channel TV Chosun in the process of renewing its broadcasting license in 2020 and was dismissed by the president in May.

While the KCC chief nominee is required to undergo a parliamentary confirmation hearing under law, consent from the National Assembly is not mandatory for the formal appointment. Thus, Lee was formally appointed on Aug. 25 without parliamentary approval as the National Assembly failed to adopt a hearing report in time.

DP spokesperson Yoon told reporters Wednesday that "there have been obvious illegal acts during his short tenure," citing the allegations surrounding Lee as the "main grounds for impeachment."

The DP also filed impeachment motions for criminal prosecutors Son Jun-sung, a Daegu High Prosecutors' Office deputy chief, and Lee Jung-seop, a second deputy chief at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, for corruption allegations.

Prosecutor Lee is investigating a case into DP Chairman Lee's suspected involvement in allegations related to Ssangbangwool's illegal remittances to North Korea during his time as Gyeonggi governor.

However, the DP didn't follow through with a motion to impeach Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, a close ally of President Yoon.

Han recently dared the DP to try to impeach him, accusing the DP of using its parliamentary majority to obstruct the Yoon administration from doing its job.

Kim Gi-hyeon, chairman of the People Power Party (PPP), criticized the DP during a supreme council meeting earlier Thursday, saying he is "sick of the DP's frequent calls for impeachment after they lost the presidential election."

"They are constantly threatening to impeach and dismiss Cabinet members who have not committed any illegal acts and are only focusing on political probes to criticize the government."

He noted that the DP had tried to flex its parliamentary majority in attempting to dismiss Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Foreign Minister Park Jin and others.

In September, Lee Jong-sup resigned as defense minister as the DP pushed for his dismissal for allegedly interfering in a military investigation into the death of a young Marine corporal who died while responding to a flood.

The DP has also floated trying to get Justice Minister Han, Land Minister Won Hee-ryong, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho and Agriculture Minister Jeong Hwang-geun removed.

"There is a lot of work to do in the National Assembly, but the DP is only trying to intimidate Cabinet members and tie the president's hands and feet," PPP Chairman Kim said, pointing to the budget bill and other legislation related to people's livelihood.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]