The Broadcasting and Communications Commission (BCC) will conduct a hearing regarding Eugene ENT, the largest shareholder of YTN.
On September 28, the BCC approved the hearing during its 38th full committee meeting. Three members, including Vice Chairman Ko Min-soo and Commissioners Yoon Seong-ok and Ryu Shin-hwan, voted in favor, while Commissioner Choi Soo-young supported it conditionally. Commissioner Lee Sang-geun opposed the motion, but it passed by majority vote.
This issue arose after the former Korea Communications Commission approved a change in YTN's largest shareholder to Eugene ENT in February 2024.
At that time, concerns were raised about the legality of the approval, as only two out of five members had voted in favor, and issues regarding the consolidation and sale of YTN shares were also highlighted. The YTN Employee Stock Ownership Association filed an administrative lawsuit seeking to annul the approval of the change in the largest shareholder, and in November of last year, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled that the approval was procedurally flawed and annulled it.
Before determining whether to revoke the approval of Eugene ENT as YTN's largest shareholder, the BCC has been conducting a hearing process to gather opinions from the parties involved and investigate the facts and evidence. A similar discussion took place on August 21, but the agenda was not addressed due to the departure of the commissioners and a request for the recusal of Chairman Kim Jong-cheol.
During the meeting, Chairman Kim was excluded from the discussion due to his history of submitting an opinion letter advocating for the annulment of the approval of the change in YTN's largest shareholder. However, he remained present to meet the quorum, and Vice Chairman Ko Min-soo chaired the meeting in his place.
Opinions among the commissioners were divided. Commissioner Yoon stated, "Despite the need for careful public discourse during the privatization process, there was a lack of transparency, and the consolidation and sale process appears to have procedural irregularities favoring specific entities. It is urgent to conduct an empirical investigation into Eugene ENT to determine the legality of the situation."
Commissioner Lee expressed opposition, arguing, "One reason for conducting the hearing is based on the first-instance ruling regarding the annulment of the privatization approval for the news channel YTN, but the Supreme Court's ruling has not yet been finalized. Investigating the annulment during an ongoing trial could constitute an abuse of discretion."
Commissioner Choi, who had previously expressed opposition, conditionally supported the motion, stating, "Even if the hearing agenda is approved today, it should not proceed on the premise of revocation, and the hearing chair must conduct the proceedings independently and objectively without bias."
Vice Chairman Ko emphasized, "If there are flaws in the procedures and content of the former commission's decision, the BCC can revoke the approval, so we are requesting evidence to allow an objective third-party chair to make a judgment through the hearing process. The hearing itself should not presuppose any outcomes."
The BCC plans to notify the parties involved in advance regarding the decision and conduct the hearing in October.
On September 28, the BCC approved the hearing during its 38th full committee meeting. Three members, including Vice Chairman Ko Min-soo and Commissioners Yoon Seong-ok and Ryu Shin-hwan, voted in favor, while Commissioner Choi Soo-young supported it conditionally. Commissioner Lee Sang-geun opposed the motion, but it passed by majority vote.
This issue arose after the former Korea Communications Commission approved a change in YTN's largest shareholder to Eugene ENT in February 2024.
At that time, concerns were raised about the legality of the approval, as only two out of five members had voted in favor, and issues regarding the consolidation and sale of YTN shares were also highlighted. The YTN Employee Stock Ownership Association filed an administrative lawsuit seeking to annul the approval of the change in the largest shareholder, and in November of last year, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled that the approval was procedurally flawed and annulled it.
Before determining whether to revoke the approval of Eugene ENT as YTN's largest shareholder, the BCC has been conducting a hearing process to gather opinions from the parties involved and investigate the facts and evidence. A similar discussion took place on August 21, but the agenda was not addressed due to the departure of the commissioners and a request for the recusal of Chairman Kim Jong-cheol.
During the meeting, Chairman Kim was excluded from the discussion due to his history of submitting an opinion letter advocating for the annulment of the approval of the change in YTN's largest shareholder. However, he remained present to meet the quorum, and Vice Chairman Ko Min-soo chaired the meeting in his place.
Opinions among the commissioners were divided. Commissioner Yoon stated, "Despite the need for careful public discourse during the privatization process, there was a lack of transparency, and the consolidation and sale process appears to have procedural irregularities favoring specific entities. It is urgent to conduct an empirical investigation into Eugene ENT to determine the legality of the situation."
Commissioner Lee expressed opposition, arguing, "One reason for conducting the hearing is based on the first-instance ruling regarding the annulment of the privatization approval for the news channel YTN, but the Supreme Court's ruling has not yet been finalized. Investigating the annulment during an ongoing trial could constitute an abuse of discretion."
Commissioner Choi, who had previously expressed opposition, conditionally supported the motion, stating, "Even if the hearing agenda is approved today, it should not proceed on the premise of revocation, and the hearing chair must conduct the proceedings independently and objectively without bias."
Vice Chairman Ko emphasized, "If there are flaws in the procedures and content of the former commission's decision, the BCC can revoke the approval, so we are requesting evidence to allow an objective third-party chair to make a judgment through the hearing process. The hearing itself should not presuppose any outcomes."
The BCC plans to notify the parties involved in advance regarding the decision and conduct the hearing in October.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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