South Korean regional broadcaster accused of violating media accountability law

A new law intended to ensure editorial independence by requiring employee consent for appointing newsroom leaders has been undermined in South Korea. The "reporter accountability system," introduced in the revised Broadcasting Act last August, aims to prevent undue influence from owners and management on news content.

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The management appointed two division heads recently without the consent of the union, which is stipulated in our collective agreement. This is a violation of the agreement.

However, Gwangju MBC is facing criticism from its labor union for appointing two new division heads without undergoing the required consent process stipulated in the collective agreement. The union argues this is a violation of their agreement, while management claims the consent was implicitly given when the individuals previously held similar roles and that the current situation, marked by labor disputes, could turn the process into a popularity contest. Management also points to a clause allowing for discussion on consent during organizational restructuring, which they argue applies here.

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The broadcast division head already went through the appointment consent process two years ago when he was the head of the news division, so there is no need to do it again. In a situation where there are already labor-management conflicts, it could simply become a popularity contest.

The union counters that the spirit of the consent process is to fully guarantee members' voting rights, and that a merger of departments necessitates a new consent procedure to include all affected members' opinions. The core issue is that while the law mandates this system for national public broadcasters and news channels, it excludes regional and private broadcasters, leaving their implementation entirely to company discretion.

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The purpose of the appointment consent procedure defined in the collective agreement is to fully guarantee the members' voting rights. If two organizations are merged, it is correct to seek consent again, including the opinions of members who were omitted in the previous vote.

This situation mirrors past disputes, such as at SBS, where management attempted to narrow the scope of the consent requirement. At Newstapa, a news outlet, negotiations for a mid-term evaluation system for newsroom leaders have stalled for seven months. Despite the low rate of consent rejections in practice, the resistance to these accountability measures highlights a perception among some managements that they infringe upon their personnel rights. Experts argue that such systems should not be left to individual labor relations and that excluding regional public broadcasters represents a legislative gap.

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The reporter accountability system is a minimal expression of will to guarantee the expression of internal members' opinions and fulfill social responsibility as a media organization contributing to democracy. Because we cannot rely solely on the owner's goodwill, all media organizations must institutionalize this.