Yonhap News TV agrees on committee for president selection; YTN negotiations stall

Yonhap News TV has reached a labor-management agreement to establish a presidential recommendation committee, a move mandated by a recent amendment to the Broadcasting Act. This development follows significant hurdles in negotiations, but the broadcaster plans to activate the committee immediately after its general shareholders' meeting on July 31, where related articles of incorporation will be revised.

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It is very fortunate that we have opened a path to coexistence by preventing mutual destruction at a time when the corrective order deadline is less than two months away.

The committee will comprise nine members: four recommended by the company, four by the labor union, and one by the viewer committee. Initially, Yonhap News, the largest shareholder, intended to appoint all four company representatives. However, a compromise was reached where Yonhap News would nominate three, and other minority shareholders with over 4% stakes would collectively nominate the remaining one. This agreement comes after the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) issued a corrective order on May 15, demanding both Yonhap News TV and YTN resolve their non-compliance by July 31.

In contrast, YTN is still struggling to reach a similar agreement. Negotiations have stalled due to disputes over the composition of the committee, specifically concerning management's involvement. The YTN branch of the Korean Federation of Press Unions argues that only management, not the board's governance committee, should participate in negotiations, as per broadcasting law requirements. They contend that the board is a supervisory body and lacks the authority to represent management in labor-management talks.

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The board's participation in negotiations is not undue interference, but rather the most responsible role to prevent confusion from the rejection of the labor-management agreement at the board level.

YTN, however, maintains that the board's participation is necessary to prevent potential conflicts and ensure the final approved agreement is not rejected at the board level. The company claims that despite excluding a major shareholder's recommended non-standing director from the negotiation team as requested by the union, the union's insistence on the participation of independent directors (outside directors) is causing the delay. The KCSC has warned YTN that failure to reach an agreement by the July 31 deadline could impact its license renewal.

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The board is only a supervisory body for management and does not have the authority to participate in labor-management negotiations on behalf of management.