Ko Gwang-heon, the inaugural Chairperson of the Broadcasting, Media and Telecommunications Review Commission, set the restoration of fairness and independence in reviews and the normalization of the organization as top priorities in his inaugural remarks on the 16th.
Chairperson Ko said at the inauguration ceremony held at the Broadcasting Center in Mok-dong, Seoul, that "reviews have been halted for a long time, and public trust in fairness and independence has plummeted," adding, "We will face past mistakes and restore the broken trust."
In particular, Chairperson Ko said to internal staff, "As chairperson, I offer my deep apology to the employees who were hurt amid unfair treatment, disadvantages, and a stifled organizational culture." Ko also reiterated that the commission is not an institution that exists for power but an independent content review body that protects the rights and interests of the people and a healthy public sphere.
Ko presented the normalization of the commission and the restoration of trust, the establishment of review principles and independence, the construction of a fair personnel system, and responses to changes in the digital environment as key tasks, saying, "We must stand as an institution that judges solely on the basis of law, norms, and responsibility to the public."
He also cited the response to illegal information online as a major task. Chairperson Ko said, "To respond to the spread of illegal and harmful information in digital spaces, such as deepfake sexual exploitation materials and illegal gambling and drug distribution, we will expand electronic reviews and strengthen detection, analysis, and blocking systems using artificial intelligence (AI)." Inside and outside the commission, there is a view that the new leadership's success will hinge on both returning the long-delayed review function to a normal track after the launch of the new system and building review capabilities suited to technological change.
Chairperson Ko is a journalist who served as CEO of Hankyoreh and The Seoul Shinmun, and previously served as head of the Korea Digital News Association and chair of the Korea Human Rights Foundation. Ko was officially appointed on the 14th with the approval of President Lee Jae-myung's appointment plan, and the term runs until Dec. 28, 2028.
Launched in October last year with the enforcement of a new law, the Broadcasting, Media and Telecommunications Review Commission is a reorganized body of the former Korea Communications Standards Commission, and under the inaugural Chairperson system it faces the task of simultaneously stabilizing the system and overhauling the organization.
In fact, the commission recently experienced internal strife over the selection by mutual vote of Standing Commissioner Kim Woo-seok. On the 23rd of last month, Commissioners Choi Sun-young and Cho Seung-ho, who had expressed their intent to resign in protest of the outcome of the mutual vote, issued a statement that day declaring their return to review duties. The two commissioners said they withdrew their resignations because Chairperson Ko and Vice Chairperson Kim Min-jung responded positively to the will to normalize the commission.
With Chairperson Ko's inauguration, the commission has cleared the first hurdle in resolving the disruption, but proving the fallen trust in reviews through the fairness of actual system operations and decision-making remains a pending task.