hankyoreh

or KBS

The Board of Audit and Inspection launched an audit investigation into the Korea Broadcasting System on June 11, inciting calls of impropriety from KBS, media organizations, civic groups and the political arena.

Later that day, KBS issued a statement criticizing the audit. In the statement, KBS says it is being targeted by the BAI, considering the BAI’s unprecedented request for comprehensive data. The KBS statement also says there is plenty of evidence showing that the audit was initiated by government agencies in charge of managing KBS and others in the political community. This kind of omni-directional pressure poses a significant threat to the existence of media companies that try to be free from money and government power, KBS said in the statement.

A KBS official said, “The BAI has requested data on all of the issues mentioned by conservative organizations. It also demanded that KBS submit data on programs produced by firms hired by KBS that have been under investigation by the National Tax Service.”

KBS unionists who have been waging a campaign to force KBS President Chung Yeon-ju to resign also raised serious questions about the audit. During a press conference organized by the National Union of Media Workers on the same day, Park Seung-gyu, the chairman of the KBS labor union, said, “I can confirm that KBS is the target of inspection through data requested by more than 10 BAI workers during a preparatory audit.” Considering the huge amount of data requested by the BAI, the audit is specifically aimed at ousting Chung, Park maintained.

The nation’s political community also opposes the audit. A group of lawmakers from the main opposition United Democratic Party, including Chun Jung-bae, Lee Mi-kyung, and Kim Jae-yun, held a press conference at the National Assembly on the same day and denounced the BAI move as a political audit aimed at taming KBS and a conspiracy to drive out Chung. The group visited both BAI and KBS, urging the audit and inspection board to put an end to the audit.

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