By Cathy Rose A. Garcia, Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporters
The impending appointment of former Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) president Jeong Yeon-ju to his old position is drawing stiff opposition from the state-run broadcaster's labor union, as well as the main opposition party.
Coupled with ongoing controversy surrounding the appointment of the president for another state-run broadcasting service EBS, opponents argue that the president is picking up government-friendly figures to wield influence over the media.
One day after the KBS board of directors voted to recommend Jeong as KBS chief to President Roh Moo-hyun, the KBS labor union called the decision "a terrorist act on KBS" Friday.
"The government-friendly board of directors staged an `interview show' of 13 candidates for one single day, protected by mobilized police forces", the union, which staged a protest during the voting process Thursday, said in a statement. "They destroyed the union members' wish for an independent committee to recommend the president, and recommended the one wanted by the government".
If accepted, this will be Jeong's second term as president and CEO of KBS. He left on June 30, after fulfilling his three-year term.
But the opposition is growing louder among political circles as Jeong reportedly maintains close ties with the governing Uri Party insiders including the president. Three directors at the KBS board, who were appointed by recommendations from the largest opposition Grand National Party (GNP), offered to resign protesting against what they called the board's "operation on political interests".
"President Roh tries to bulldoze through the re-appointment of Jeong because he wants to hold sway over broadcasting media for the presidential election next year", Rep. Yoo Ki-joon, spokesman of the conservative GNP, said in a briefing. "It's a must to restore the state-run KBS to serve the public interest, not to blow the trumpets for those in power".
During his term, Jeong has been criticized for being government-friendly by the conservative media outlets that accused him of backing broadcasts favorable to the ruling party. His radical reform measures in management were not welcomed by the labor union.
Jeong began his career as a journalist at the Dong-a Ilbo, a local daily, in 1970. He was laid off in 1975 with a group of other journalists for calling for press freedom against the authoritarian government. After studying in the United States, he returned to journalism in 1989 and served for 12 years as progressive Hankyoreh's correspondent in Washington D.C. In 2000, he returned to Seoul as the paper's editorial writer.
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