Seoul, South Korea — South Korea’s media landscape is set for a dramatic overhaul as the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) is set to be dissolved after 17 years and replaced by a newly established body, the Broadcasting and Media Communications Commission (BMCC). The National Assembly passed the "Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Broadcasting and Media Communications Commission" on September 27th, marking a significant shift in the nation's media regulation and promotion framework.
The current KCC, which was launched during the early days of the Lee Myung-bak administration in February 2008, will cease to exist immediately upon the law's promulgation and enforcement, which is expected to occur as early as next month. This means the KCC will have disappeared from the nation's institutional history after approximately 17 years and 7 months.
New Body Integrates Policy and Promotion
The incoming BMCC will inherit the existing duties of the KCC while also taking over media promotion functions, such as those related to paid broadcasting, currently handled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The creation of the BMCC aims to unify and streamline regulatory and promotional policies within a single organization.
The composition of the commission is also changing. The former KCC was comprised of five standing commissioners, including the chairperson. The new BMCC will expand to a total of seven members: three standing commissioners (including the chairperson) and four non-standing members. The President will appoint two members, including the chairperson. The remaining five members will be appointed or commissioned by the President based on the recommendation of the political parties: the ruling party’s negotiating body will recommend two (one of whom must be a standing commissioner), and the opposition party’s negotiating body will recommend three (one of whom must be a standing commissioner).
Immediate Dismissal of KCC Chairperson Expected
One of the most immediate and contentious consequences of the law’s enforcement is the expected automatic dismissal of the current KCC Chairperson, Lee Jin-sook. Although her term was originally set to expire in August of next year, a supplementary provision in the new act stipulates that KCC public officials, excluding political appointees, will be transferred to the BMCC. As Chairperson Lee is the only political appointee with a remaining term, the move is widely seen as targeting her removal.
Chairperson Lee has strongly criticized the law’s passage. Before entering the National Assembly plenary session, she stated that her removal would pave the way for a BMCC chairperson aligned with President Lee Jae-myung’s national philosophy, sarcastically adding that she would "watch the scene of my own execution and purge." She is scheduled to hold a press conference on September 28th to formally announce her stance and outline future legal action, potentially including a constitutional appeal or a request for a provisional injunction.
Post-Launch Priorities and Regulatory Changes
Once the new BMCC chairperson and other commissioners are appointed following a parliamentary confirmation hearing, the new commission is expected to prioritize follow-up measures related to recently amended broadcasting laws.
Specifically, the amended Broadcasting Act, the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act, and the EBS Act require the re-composition of the boards of directors for KBS, the Foundation for Broadcast Culture (MBC’s largest shareholder), and EBS, respectively, within three months of the acts’ enforcement. To achieve this, the BMCC will first need to create new rules outlining the criteria for selecting the academic and legal organizations granted the authority to recommend board directors for each broadcaster.
Furthermore, the KCC’s affiliated organization, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), which reviews the fairness and public nature of broadcasting content, will also be reorganized into the Broadcasting and Media Standards Commission (BMSC). Unlike the previous KCSC chairperson, the BMSC chairperson will be designated as a political appointee subject to a National Assembly confirmation hearing and can be impeached by the National Assembly for legal violations, significantly increasing the level of political oversight on the content review body.
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