The FBC board decided to dismiss Chairman Koh Young-ju in a vote on a motion submitted late last month by three members close to the incumbent liberal government. MBC TV workers are on strike for two months demanding the resignation of Koh and Kim Jang-kyom, company president. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – The Foundation for Broadcast Culture (FBC), the largest shareholder of MBC TV, voted to fire its chairman Thursday, holding him responsible for the network management’s alleged unfair labor practices and politically biased interference in news coverage under previous conservative governments.
The FBC board decided to dismiss Chairman Koh Young-ju in a vote on a motion submitted late last month by three members close to the incumbent liberal government. MBC TV workers are on strike for two months demanding the resignation of Koh and Kim Jang-kyom, company president.
As its largest shareholder, the foundation has the right to name and dismiss the TV station’s president.
Koh, who took the FBC helm in August 2015 during the former conservative government, has faced pressure to resign since the change of government. He said during a parliamentary audit last week that he would step down when the board convened on Thursday.
Koh was also voted to be kicked out from the FBC board, with his power within the foundation reduced to that of a non-executive board member.
Union members associated with the National Union of Media Workers at KBS and MBC, two of the country’s biggest terrestrial networks, are continuing with strikes calling for the removal of the networks’ management and the restoration of independent, fair reporting.
The dual strike at both networks is the first since 2012. 1,800 union members are striking at KBS and 2,000 at MBC.
(Yonhap)
