The People Power Party criticized that the Lee Jae-myung administration's media control has gone into full swing after a court ruled that the Korea Communications Commission's disposition approving a change of YTN's largest shareholder must be canceled.
On the 28th, Park Sung-hoon, senior spokesperson of the People Power Party, issued a commentary and said, "In the lawsuit that the YTN labor union filed against the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) in protest of the decision to change YTN's largest shareholder to the private corporation Eugene Group, the court sided with the union."
He went on, "Eugene Group won the bid in 2023 for 30.95% equity held by public corporations for 319.9 billion won, but the union demanded that YTN be returned to the 'union-run broadcaster' of the past, and figures from the Democratic Party promised support," adding, "It is odd enough that the ruling party stepped up to promise support for a mere broadcast union's complaint, but it is an unacceptable outcome that the court made a decision to suit the administration's taste and handed YTN over to the media union."
Park also said, "Since the start of the Lee Jae-myung government, there have been constant attempts to hand broadcasting companies over to the media union," pointing out, "Through the Broadcasting Act, which requires replacing within three months the presidents and heads of news at the private broadcasters YTN and Yonhap News TV and mandates that the composition of the presidential recommendation committee be agreed with the union, they enabled the appointment of presidents to the union's liking."
He added, "This lays bare the 'sly inner intentions' to use the press not as watchdogs holding power to account but as mouthpieces," and said, "It is deeply regrettable that even the court has fallen to the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party, which are blatantly revealing their desire to control and dominate the media."
Lawmakers of the People Power Party on the Science. ICT. Broadcasting. and Communications Committee, the relevant standing committee, also condemned the court's ruling.
Members of the People Power Party on the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee said, "Just as public funds provided to large corporations in trouble after the foreign exchange crisis were recovered after management returned to normal, the sale of YTN public corporations' equity is a natural step," adding, "Both KEPCO KDN Co. (KDN) and the Korea Racing Authority were assessed by external verification agencies as having no outside interference, and the fulfillment of conditions was deemed appropriate. The sale proceeds are assets that public corporations rightly should use for the greater public good."