Yoon names ex-MBC TV journalist Lee Jin-sook as new broadcasting watchdog chief
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, July 4 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol named Lee Jin-sook, a former journalist of public broadcaster MBC, as new chief of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), Yoon's chief of staff said Thursday.
The nomination of Lee, who served as president of MBC's Daejeon branch, came two days after former KCC Chairman Kim Hong-il stepped down voluntarily ahead of an opposition-led parliamentary impeachment vote against him.
The resignation was aimed at preventing the chairman's duties from being suspended as impeachment would automatically suspend the job. The watchdog's chairman holds the key to decisions on broadcasting stations, including the appointment of a new president at MBC TV.
Kim's predecessor, Lee Dong-kwan, also resigned ahead of an impeachment vote in December.
"I stand here with a heavy heart because I have been nominated after witnessing my two predecessors step down after just three and six months, respectively," Lee said during a briefing at the presidential office.
"They did not engage in any illegal activities while performing their duties. They left their positions to prevent the disruption of the KCC's duties ahead of politically driven impeachments," she added.
The DP, which has a controlling majority of 170 seats in the 300-member Assembly, has accused the former KCC chiefs of unfairly running the broadcasting watchdog only with a vice chairperson, leaving three out of five standing member positions vacant.
If she takes office, Lee said she will normalize the KCC to restore public trust, urging the opposition to recommend standing committees to fill up the vacant posts as soon as possible.
Lee is subject to parliamentary hearings, although Yoon can proceed with the appointment regardless of the outcome of the hearing.
In the latest reshuffle, Kim Byoung-hwan, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, was nominated as the new head of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), and Kim Wan-sup, who previously served as the second vice finance minister, was named as the Minister of Environment, chief of staff Chung Jin-suk said.
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