Candidates to compete on public-service duties, deficit solutions

BCPF board to hold final interviews Sunday, announce pick

The MBC headquarters building in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
The MBC headquarters building in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

The field of candidates to lead MBC has been narrowed to two finalists: Lee Seong-ju, a managing director at iMBC, and Jeon Dong-geon, former president of Ulsan MBC (listed in Korean alphabetical order).

The Broadcast Culture Promotion Foundation, or BCPF, MBC's largest shareholder, and the Citizens' Presidential Candidate Recommendation Committee — a 150-member public panel — held a policy presentation forum Saturday at the Golden Mouse Hall of MBC's Sangam headquarters in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

Four candidates — Lee Geun-haeng, Jeon Dong-geon, Lee Ho-in and Lee Seong-ju — took part in the livestreamed event, each laying out a management roadmap centered on fulfilling public broadcasting's civic obligations, strategies to address the network's deficit, and plans for organizational reform. Following the presentations, the committee conducted deliberative discussions, a question-and-answer session and a vote to select the two finalists.

Lee Seong-ju joined MBC as a reporter in 1995 and served as chairman of the MBC branch of the National Union of Media Workers from 2013 to 2015. After heading the media planning division, he has served as a managing director at iMBC since 2024.

Jeon Dong-geon joined MBC as a reporter in 1991 and went on to work as an investigative reporter for the current-affairs program "Sisa Magazine 2580," serve as chairman of the Korean Broadcast Journalists Association and head the news production division. He served as president of Ulsan MBC from 2021 to 2024.

The BCPF board plans to hold a special meeting Sunday at 2 p.m. to conduct final interviews with both candidates before announcing the president-designate. The formal appointment is set to be completed Monday through an MBC shareholder meeting.


hwshin@heraldcorp.com