KCC chair impeachment dismissed

[Anchor]

The Constitutional Court has dismissed the impeachment motion against Lee Jin-sook, the chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission(KCC).

A removal decision requires the approval of at least six justices, but opinions were split 4 to 4 on key issues, including the legality of the two-member system within the KCC, leading to the dismissal of the impeachment.

Park Seok-ho reports.

[Report]

The core issue in the impeachment trial was whether there was a quorum for the Korea Communications Commission’s decision-making process in July last year.

The KCC is supposed to have five members, but at the time, three positions were vacant, leaving only the chairperson and the vice chairperson to vote on appointing board members for public broadcasters, sparking controversy.

Among the eight judges, four determined that there was no illegality in this matter.

They argued that there is no quorum regulation in the KCC Act, and that neglecting important and urgent issues for a long time could constitute a violation of the public official's duty of sincerity.

[Kim Hyung-du/Constitutional Court Justice: "Therefore, it cannot be seen that the decision made by the respondent with only two members violates Article 13, Section 2 of the KCC Act."]

The other four judges had a different opinion.

They stated that the KCC, as a deliberative body that guarantees freedom of broadcasting and public functions, should have made efforts to resolve the two-member system, and that Chairperson Lee Jin-sook pushed through the decision on the day of her appointment.

[Jung Jung-mi/Constitutional Court Justice: "This undermined the trust of the public in the exercise of the chairperson's authority and the public interest and public nature of broadcasting."]

Since six or more votes were required for removal, the 4-4 deadlock resulted in the dismissal of the impeachment.

The National Assembly’s legal representatives expressed disappointment over the ruling.

[Lim Yoon-tae/Representative for the National Assembly's Impeachment Committee: "The fact that there is no quorum regulation itself implies that it was originally based on a five-member system."]

Chairperson Lee Jin-sook expressed gratitude for the wise decision.

[Lee Jin-sook/Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission: "I believe this is a meaningful outcome that allows the executive branch to carry out its duties."]

With this decision from the Constitutional Court, Chairperson Lee Jin-sook has returned to her duties after 174 days.

KBS News, Park Seok-ho.