The court has ruled to cancel the appointments of new KBS board members who were recommended by the "two-person system" Korea Media and Communications Commission and appointed by the president. However, the petitions by some KBS board members whose successors have not been designated were dismissed for failing to meet procedural requirements.
The Administrative Division 12 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Kang Jae-won) on the 22nd ruled in a suit filed by KBS board members (Kim Chan-tae, Ryu Il-hyung, Lee Sang-yo, Jeong Jae-kwon, and Jo Suk-hyun) seeking confirmation of invalidity of the board appointments against the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) and the president, stating, "We cancel the July 31, 2024 appointment by the president of Seo Ki-seok, Kwon Soon-beom, Ryu Hyun-soon and others as directors of the Korean Broadcasting System."
The court found that the appointments in question were not "null and void" per se but did have grounds for cancellation. As a rule, if a disposition is deemed to have a serious and obvious defect, it is considered "void," meaning it has no effect from the outset. If a disposition has a defect but not to the extent of voidness, it remains effective until canceled by a court or administrative agency.
The court explained that the purpose of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Act in defining the KCC as a collegial body and setting various rules for its composition is connected to "freedom of broadcasting." It added, "If there are only two incumbent Commissioners, even if differing opinions are exchanged, the concept of a majority vote cannot apply and the principle of majority rule effectively does not function."
The court found it unlawful that recommendations and resolutions were made within the KCC by up to two Commissioners appointed by the president, and added that there were grounds to cancel the president's appointment disposition as well. KBS board members are appointed by the president upon recommendation by the KCC.
However, the petitions of four plaintiffs, including board member Ryu Il-hyung, who have not had successors designated, were dismissed. The court said that because the recommendations and appointments of successors were not included, their status being indeterminate stems from the lack of successor designation, and it is hard to see it as resulting from the recommendations and dispositions at issue. It concluded they lack a legally protectable interest to contest the recommendation resolution and therefore have no standing to sue.
Regarding board member Jo Suk-hyun, the court held that the contested recommendation resolution constitutes an intermediate step toward the appointment of KBS board members and, by itself, is unlikely to affect a legally protectable interest. It therefore dismissed the part against the KCC and ruled only on the part against the president.
Earlier, former KCC Chair Lee Jin-sook, operating under a "two-person system" with former Vice Chair Kim Tae-gyu in July 2024, newly appointed six directors of the Foundation for Broadcast Culture and recommended seven of the 11 KBS board seats to figures aligned with the ruling bloc (then the People Power Party), after which former President Yoon Suk-yeol approved the appointments. In response, five KBS board members and sitting directors of the Foundation for Broadcast Culture filed merits suits seeking to nullify the appointments and also sought injunctions to stay execution.