President Yoon names corruption watchdog chief as new broadcasting czar

Politics

Published: 06 Dec. 2023, 16:46

President Yoon names corruption watchdog chief as new broadcasting czar

Kim Hong-il, chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, speaks to reporters at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Wednesday after his nomination by President Yoon Suk Yeol as the new head of the Korea Communications Commission. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday named Kim Hong-il, chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), as the next head of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the state broadcasting watchdog.

The nomination comes after short-lived KCC Chairman Lee Dong-kwan resigned on Friday as the National Assembly, controlled by the liberal Democratic Party (DP), moved to impeach him.

"The KCC is currently faced with several pending issues where various interests are in sharp conflict, so a fair process in handling affairs is needed more than ever," Kim Dae-ki, presidential chief of staff, said in a press briefing. "Nominee Kim Hong-il is the right person to protect the KCC's independence and fairness with his work abilities, firm conviction in laws and principles and a balanced sense that is not biased in any direction."

KCC chief nominee Kim, a lawyer and former chief prosecutor of the Busan High Prosecutors' Office, is known as a self-made legal professional, working as the breadwinner of his family after being orphaned at an early age, supporting his younger siblings.

Kim began his career as a prosecutor at the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office in 1986 and served in various posts over the years, including at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. When Kim served as head of the central investigation department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, he was a director superior to Yoon, also a former prosecutor, who then served as chief of the second central investigation division.

After resigning from the prosecution in 2013, Kim worked at a private law firm for a decade before his appointment by Yoon as ACRC chief in June.

"During his time as a legal professional and in public office, he had a reputation for handling his duties fairly and unwaveringly under all circumstances and was highly respected both internally and externally for his legal expertise as well as his ability to run a rational organization," chief of staff Kim said.

The KCC czar is a heavily contested position, given the influence of broadcasting networks on voters as rival parties gear up for the general election in April next year.

The chief of staff described Kim as "a man of great standing who took sole responsibility for the livelihood and education of his three younger siblings and entered college later in life to become a lawyer."

Born in 1956 in Yesan County, South Chungcheong, as the eldest son of four, Kim lost his mother in elementary school and his father in high school and put his higher education on hold to take care of his brother and two sisters. He entered Chungnam National University Law School on a full scholarship in 1975, three years after graduating from high school.

The latest nomination comes despite criticism of the president's tendency to appoint former prosecutors to key posts. Kim is known to be close to Yoon, having built up a high level of trust over the years.

The nominee said that if appointed KCC chief, he would do his best to "ensure fair and independent broadcasting and communication that is trusted and loved by the public."

He is expected to be tasked with bringing stability to the KCC to resolve the crisis in management it has faced over the past months.

Former KCC czar Lee, who was appointed to the post by Yoon in August without parliamentary approval, has been criticized by the DP for his heavy-handed management of the broadcasting watchdog and alleged history of press censorship.

The DP accused him of exercising undue influence over state broadcaster KBS and personnel affairs as a senior presidential secretary for press affairs under the Lee Myung-bak administration. It also criticized the KCC's alleged attempt in recent months to restructure the board overseeing the management of public broadcasting in favor of the current government.

The DP planned to put an impeachment motion against Lee to a parliamentary vote last Friday. If the motion had passed, Lee would have faced a monthslong suspension from his job until the Constitutional Court made a final decision.

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.

From left, Kim Hong-il, Korea Communications Commission chairman nominee; Oh Seok-hwan, vice education minister nominee; and Lee Hee-wan, vice veterans affairs minister nominee [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

Yoon also tapped Oh Seok-hwan, a presidential education secretary, as education vice minister, chief of staff Kim said.

Lee Hee-wan, a Navy captain and survivor of a deadly inter-Korean naval skirmish near the western sea border in 2002, was named as vice minister of patriots and veterans affairs.

Lee is noted for playing a commanding role in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea, in June 2002, when he was shot in both legs. His right leg was eventually amputated.

In 2002, he received the Chungmu Order of Military Merit in recognition of his performance in the battle, which left six South Korean sailors dead and 18 others injured.

It is unusual for an active-duty service member to be appointed vice minister.

"This appointment reflects the Yoon government's firm stance that heroes will be recognized," said Kim.

The latest nominations came after the president replaced six ministers earlier this week, considering Cabinet members who wanted to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

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