[News Today] COURT PAUSES FBC RESHUFFLE

[LEAD]
A court has suspended the new director of appointment of MBC, one of the Korean public broadcasting media, by the Korea Communications Commission. The court found issues with the decision-making process, as the Commission, legally required to operate with a panel of five members, made decisions with only two members present.

[REPORT]
In her first statement after taking office, new Korea Communications Commission head Lee Jin-sook stressed the urgent need to organize a public broadcasting board.

Lee Jin-sook/ Chair, Korea Communications Commission
We will quickly finalize the board to ensure public broadcasting's fairness.

On her first day, she held a meeting with Vice Chairman Kim Tae-kyu and appointed six new directors of the Foundation for Broadcast Culture, MBC's major shareholder.

In protest, the FBC's Chairperson Kwon Tae-sun and other officials filed a lawsuit to have the appointments nullified and asked the court for an injunction.

The court accepted their request for a temporary injunction, saying Kwon and others will suffer irreparable damage if the new directors are appointed.

It added that it is hard to conclude that there are no procedural problems with the decision made by only two KCC members, Lee and Kim.

The court noted that deliberating and deciding on important matters with just two members could undermine the legislative intent of the Broadcasting Act.

It added that there is room to challenge the legality of the decision through a lawsuit.

With the court's ruling, the appointment of the new FBC directors will be postponed until the results of the lawsuit come out.

MBC welcomed the ruling, calling it a reasonable and historical decision showing the illegality of the KCC's two-member system.

The KCC vowed to immediately appeal the ruling and show that they approved the appointment in accordance with the law and principles.