Yoon accepts resignation of broadcasting watchdog

Politics

Published: 01 Dec. 2023, 13:32 Updated: 01 Dec. 2023, 14:40

Yoon accepts resignation of broadcasting watchdog

Lee Dong-kwan, former head of the Korea Communication Commission, attends a Cabnet meeting in Seoul on Friday. Lee offered his resignation on the same day, which President Yoon Suk Yeol accepted that day. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol accepted the resignation of Lee Dong-kwan, the head of the Korea Communication Commission (KCC), on Friday.

Lee offered his resignation earlier in the day as he was facing the Democratic Party-controlled National Assembly's impeachment vote for him.

If the motion is passed, Lee faces suspension from his job until the Constitutional Court makes a decision.

The opposition Democratic Party (DP) filed the motion, which is widely seen to be part of its efforts to put itself in a better position before the parliamentary elections in April, given the broadcasting networks' influence over voters.

The DP accused Lee of attempting to impose government influence on the Korean broadcasting stations.

Lee previous said that his role was to stop the spread of misinformation and fake news, such as claims made by DP Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom and YouTube channel The Tamsa of Yoon and Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon drinking alcohol with 30 or so Kim & Chang attorneys at a bar in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul.

The People Power Party (PPP) said that the reasons cited by the DP for impeaching Lee were groundless and accused the DP of preventing Lee from cracking down on misinformation that may manipulate the public before the parliamentary election.

"The impeachment motion against Lee is DP's plan to use fake news in the parliamentary election," the PPP floor leader Yun Jae-ok said.

Lee is the second Yoon Suk Yeol Cabinet member who resigned before the DP pushed forward with the impeachment motion. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup was another cabinet member, who resigned just before the DP pushed for an impeachment motion.

The only cabinet member who was impeached was Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, who resumed his role five months later after the Constitutional Court ruled against the impeachment.

The DP demanded Yoon deny Lee's resignation after the news of Lee's resignation came.

"It is a ploy to avoid being impeached," Hong Ihk-pyo, the DP's floor leader, said. "If the president accepts the resignation, it is a clear act of obstructing the National Assembly from proceeding with its constitutional process."

DP leader Lee Jae-myung said Lee Dong-kwan's resignation was unexpected.

However, he added that the Yoon government runs the country abnormally.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]