KBS Board of Directors
KBS Board of Directors

The Korean Broadcasting System's board of directors is publicly recruiting candidates for its 28th president. President Park Jang-beom has filed an injunction to halt the selection process, arguing that the board's current composition is improper. Still, the board is pressing ahead with the recruitment as scheduled.

The KBS board held an emergency meeting Wednesday and approved a recruitment notice for the appointment of the network's 28th president. The recruitment is open to applicants who meet the qualifications set out under the revised Broadcasting Act and related laws.

Applications will be accepted from 10 a.m. Sept. 17 through 6 p.m. Sept. 28. Applicants may submit the required documents in person at the KBS board's secretariat office or by registered mail.

The board will screen the applications, narrow the field to five or six candidates, and refer them to the Public Recommendation Committee for President Candidates. The committee will evaluate the candidates through management plan presentations, interviews and deliberative discussions before recommending three finalists for interviews. The board will then hold final interviews with those three to select the ultimate nominee.

The incoming KBS president will serve a three-year term, renewable once. Once the board formally nominates its choice, the candidate must go through a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly.

However, Park's injunction request could delay the timeline for selecting a new president.

That day, the Seoul Southern District Court held a hearing on Park's request to halt the board's selection process for a new president.

Earlier, the KBS board, reconstituted under the revised Broadcasting Act, unanimously approved the procedures and methods for nominating a new president on Aug. 26. Park has argued that the vote was legally and procedurally improper. He noted that the board, which has 15 seats when full, was operating with only eight members at the time.

Seven board seats remain unfilled. They include two reserved for members recommended by the People Power Party, two for members recommended by the KBS Viewers' Committee, and three for members recommended by KBS staff.

At the hearing, Park's legal representative argued, "It was wrong for the board to approve a procedure that effectively determines the appointment of the president with only eight members, falling short of the quorum required for a board resolution." The representative added, "There are also problems with new board members approving the presidential selection procedure at a point when it remains unclear whether the terms of the previous board members ended before the Broadcasting Act was revised."

In response, KBS rebuffed the claim, saying, "The terms of the previous board members ended when the Broadcasting Act was revised, and the current board has eight members, more than half of its full capacity. With no disqualifying issues, the board is entitled to carry out its duties."


balme@heraldcorp.com