What is the knowledge of acting mayor of Seoul for three months? Appointment of TBS Chairman for three years term

Seo Jeong-hyup, mayor of Seoul [뉴스1]

After the death of the late Mayor Park Won-soon, the city of Seoul, which has been operating as an agency for mayoral authority, appoints subsidiary directors one after another, causing controversy. In particular, with the by-election held on April 7, with only three months left, pointed out whether it is correct to appoint an agency head with a term of three years.

The Seoul Media Foundation TBS announced on the 6th that it has appointed Professor Sun-young Yoo, a professor of the Department of Journalism and Broadcasting at Sungkonghoe University as its new chairman. The term of office is three years (ending January 5, 2024). New Chairman Yoo has served as a permanent research fellow at the Korea Press Foundation, a director at the Korean Women’s Association, and the president of the Korean Journal of Press Information.

He made a joint statement in September 2017, shortly after the KBS headquarters and MBC headquarters of the national media unions started a general strike, saying, “The presidents and directors of public broadcasting companies who have damaged independence, fairness and freedom of speech must immediately withdraw.” When it was announced, it was put on the list. In addition, the name was included when a statement by media scholars demanding the resignation of the KBS president at the time of the report of the Sewol ferry incident in May 2014 was controversial.

Prior to this, the Seoul Metropolitan Government appointed Park Sang-don, former head of the Seoul City Infrastructure Headquarters, on the 16th of last month as the chairman of the Seoul Water Recycling Facility Corporation, which was established this year. The term of office is also three years.

In November of last year, a restructuring of Gwanghwamun Square is underway in Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Reporter Kim Seong-ryong

The problem is that, while the election to select a new mayor to lead Seoul was imminent, he was urged to greet the’three-year agency head’. From July 10 last year, when former Mayor Park was vacant, the 1st Vice Mayor of Administration Seo Jeong-hyeop has been acting as the mayor’s authority. It is common for the agency to focus on management rather than exercising personnel rights or implementing active administration. At the press conference on the 5th, Acting Authority Seo himself said, “The role of the authority is to stably operate municipal administration until the next market comes.I emphasized. This means that although the term of office last year ended, the Seoul Housing and Urban Corporation (SH), which operates as the presidential agency until a new mayor is selected, is a common method.

However, contrary to the words, the agency Seo has been drawing attention with active actions. This is because it looks different from other authority agencies, such as having a New Year’s press conference or conducting a broadcast interview. In November of last year, the construction of the Gwanghwamun Plaza renovation project in Seoul, where a budget of KRW 79.1 billion was invested, drew strong opposition from civic groups.

In a series of actions, as the head of the affiliated agency was appointed, it was argued that the opposition authority “is doing a’retrospection’ of personnel”. Rep. Park Dae-chul of People’s Strength said on the day, “Will you appoint a three-month-old TBS chairman? “It is common sense that a power elected according to the will of the citizens of Seoul after three months appoints a chairman for a three-year term,” he said.

[TBS 홈페이지 캡처]

In particular, in the case of TBS, there is a possibility of growing controversy during the April by-election as it is sending out programs that have a considerable political bias such as’Kim Eo-jun’s News Factory’. Recently, broadcasters Kim Eo-jun and Joo Jin-woo, and actor Kim Gyu-ri appeared in the campaign and shouted “Let’s do work (1)”, reminiscent of the Democratic Party’s election preferences, and criticized it as a pre-election campaign. Then, in the end, TBS said “Ahead of the by-election, the campaign is halted today (5th) in response to some criticism that it may cause unnecessary misunderstandings.”

In the past, the Democratic Party was also critical of the exercise of personnel rights by acting authority. After former President Park Geun-hye was impeached in December 2016, when Hwang Gyo-an, then acting presidential powers, exercised personnel rights to the head of the Korean Horse Racing Association, Choi In-ho, then the highest member of the Democratic Party, said, “It is extremely inappropriate for Acting Hwang to exercise personnel rights on behalf of the President.“I pointed out.

Reporter Heo Jin [email protected]