The Broadcasting and Media Commission has partially canceled sanctions related to a fact-checking project and apologized to the social cooperative Party. This decision comes after determining that there was no evidence of misuse of labor costs, despite previous penalties imposed.
On August 14, the Broadcasting and Media Commission visited Party to express its apologies for the difficulties encountered during the audit and administrative sanction process related to the fact-checking project.
Previously, in 2024, the commission announced audit results indicating that Party, an indirect grant recipient for the fact-checking project, had misused funds. Consequently, in 2025, the commission proceeded with the cancellation of grant decisions, return orders, and the imposition of penalties.
Party contested these sanctions and filed an objection in July of the same year. Following a review, the commission acknowledged that the regulations regarding the calculation of labor costs for indirect grant recipients were unclear, and that no misuse had been confirmed. In June of this year, the commission canceled the initial audit findings regarding the misuse of labor costs.
As a result, the commission nullified the sanctions related to labor costs imposed on Party and canceled part of the grant decisions previously made to the media foundation.
During the visit, the commission explained the circumstances leading to the cancellation of the judgment on labor cost misuse and expressed sympathy and apologies for the difficulties Party faced during the audit and sanction process.
Additionally, the commission stated that it would closely examine any unclear aspects of the accounting guidelines related to the calculation of labor costs for indirect grant recipients and improve relevant regulations and audit procedures to prevent similar cases in the future.
Kim Jong-cheol, chairman of the Broadcasting and Media Commission, expressed regret over the difficulties Party experienced and apologized for the lack of thoroughness in the previous commission's audit and administrative actions. He stated, "We will carefully review the entire process of grant execution and auditing to ensure that similar cases do not recur."
He also added, "I hope that Party, which has been working to activate public discourse through digital technology, can overcome these challenges and resume stable operations."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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