Nominee for KCC chief blasted for alleged media suppression, son's bullying

The National Assembly confirmation hearing for Lee Dong-kwan, the nominee to chair South Korea's broadcasting regulator, the Korea Communications Commission, on Friday turned into a heated exchange between the opposition and ruling parties over a string of serious allegations against the nominee, including that his son bullied a fellow student in high school and that he attempted to suppress media freedom.

Lee introduced himself as the KCC nominee at the start of the hearing saying that, as chief, he would “strengthen laws and systems to protect users from the spread of fake news."

He pledged that he would "ensure transparency and objectivity in (public broadcasters') financial management to live up to the name of public broadcasting," such that public broadcasters "fulfill their greater social responsibility as public broadcasting companies."

Korea's public broadcasters include national television and radio broadcasters KBS, MBC and EBS, as well as TBS, which is run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

"We will redefine the 'fairness' and 'publicness' of digital and the media in response to the new era of the great digital transformation," Lee said.

The KCC nominee was then confronted with a barrage of critical questions from the main opposition liberal Democratic Party of Korea's lawmakers.

Democratic Party Rep. Jang Kyung-tae raised the case of school violence involving Lee's son having allegedly bullied a fellow high school student in 2011, saying that situation alone "disqualifies Lee as a high-ranking government official," and that Lee's son having been just transferred to another high school afterwards, despite being a perpetrator, shows that he was given preferential treatment.

“It was a quarrel between the two sides, not unilateral violence,” Lee responded. “My son has seriously reflected on it.”

"I asked my son more than ten times (if he ever committed school violence), and he answered that he never did," according to Lee.

The Democratic Party lawmakers also criticized Lee for allegedly attempting to suppress media freedom, citing controversial documents drawn up by the National Intelligence Service, allegedly at Lee's request.

Democratic Party lawmaker Rep. Ko Min-jung alleged that Lee attempted to crack down on media freedom as the spokesperson and senior presidential secretary for press affairs for conservative former President Lee Myung-bak from 2008 to 2010.

Holding one of the alleged documents, Ko said it contains content such as "excluding left-leaning civic groups and individuals related to specific broadcasting companies when recommending election broadcasting deliberation committee members" and "cooperating with sound media and conservative groups, strengthening broadcasters' activities to check left-leaning election reporting."

"About 30 documents written by the NIS were found, including a document on biased radio broadcasts of current affairs," Ko said.

Lee responded by stating, "I've never ordered or received such reports."

Meanwhile, lawmakers from the conservative ruling People Power Party sought to defend Lee. Rep. Kim Yeung-shik criticized the opposition party, saying, "It is necessary to verify the morality of the nominee, but it is too much to put him through a public disemboweling."

Even if nominee Lee fails to be confirmed by the National Assembly, the president can enforce the appointment under the president's power to appoint.

“Lee is unqualified to be the chief of the government broadcasting watchdog, and if Yoon pushes ahead with his appointment, Yoon will face public resistance. As long as the Democratic Party exists in the National Assembly, we will get to the root of all of these suspicions concerning Lee,” said Democratic Party lawmaker Rep. Jo Seoung-lae.

Lee, a former reporter at local daily Dong-A Ilbo, was one of the key aides of conservative former President Lee Myung-bak, serving as his spokesperson and senior secretary for press affairs from 2008 to 2010, and special advisor on media in 2011.

In 2021, he joined Yoon's presidential election campaign team as chief of the special media communications committee.