Lee Jin-sook, the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, is answering reporters' questions while commuting to the Korea Communications Commission at the Government Complex Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province on Oct. 23. /Courtesy of News1
Lee Jin-sook, the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, is answering reporters' questions while commuting to the Korea Communications Commission at the Government Complex Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province on Oct. 23. /Courtesy of News1

Chairperson Lee Jin-sook of the Korea Communications Commission, who returned after the impeachment motion was dismissed, officially received her first report on national duties on the 24th.

During the first report, the major issues discussed included the directions for handling numerous lawsuits, plans for the re-licensing of terrestrial broadcasting, and initiatives for regulating big tech.

First, concerning various lawsuits, it was noted that there are numerous ongoing cases and that this number will surely increase in the future, prompting the proposal to establish a separate legal support team for handling such cases. The Korea Communications Commission is currently facing dozens of lawsuits, with more expected to arise, however, this year's lawsuit budget of over 300 million won has been completely cut, necessitating a response.

In response, the Korea Communications Commission is said to be considering forming internal teams to handle broadcasting regulation lawsuits internally, while examining the possibility of appointing representatives for major issues such as the appointment of directors for public broadcasting and lawsuits against big tech corporations.

Shortly after her return, the case regarding the re-licensing of 146 channels from 12 domestic operators, including KBS 1TV and MBC TV, was also reported as a major agenda item. The Korea Communications Commission received the application for terrestrial re-licensing last year and conducted practical procedures such as listening to viewer opinions; however, they were unable to form a review committee under the one-person system.

The Korea Communications Commission is expected to start forming the review committee after the Lunar New Year holiday. The formation of the committee can proceed immediately since it only requires consultations among standing commissioners, meaning no deliberation or resolution is necessary.

Along with this, the Korea Communications Commission plans to simultaneously check the compliance performance of conditions for the re-approval of comprehensive programming channels and news channels. Likewise, the big tech regulation issue mentioned by Chairperson Lee the previous day, such as the imposition of penalty surcharges on Google and Apple for in-app payments, was also noted as a major matter during the report.

Previously, the Korea Communications Commission indicated it would impose a penalty surcharge of up to 68 billion won on Google and Apple, and the situation is now ready for a resolution following public opinion hearings.

However, there are forecasts that reaching a conclusion may be difficult due to entangled domestic and international circumstances. The Korea Communications Commission is expected to hold a meeting chaired by Chairperson Lee on March 3, following the Lunar New Year holiday, and after detailed reports on national duties on the 4th and 5th, they are anticipated to schedule the first plenary meeting after returning to a two-person system.