YTN Resumes Talks on President Recommendation Committee; Yonhap News TV Still Stalled

Discussions surrounding the formation of a president recommendation committee (PRC) have resumed between YTN's labor and management, marking a step forward for the news channel. However, Yonhap News TV remains stalled in its efforts, reportedly due to the major shareholder's insistence on maintaining influence.

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We have decided to make procedural adjustments within the necessary scope. We will form a PRC negotiation team centered around the acting CEO.

YTN's acting CEO, Jung Jae-hoon, announced on May 28 that the company would shift negotiation tactics. Previously, the board's governance committee led the talks, but the union argued this violated the principle of separating ownership and management. YTN's union had boycotted negotiations since March, citing this issue. The union has expressed willingness to resume talks, noting the company's proposal to form a labor-management parity committee and recommend three presidential candidates to the board.

Both YTN and Yonhap News TV are obligated under the revised Broadcasting Act, enacted in August last year, to establish PRCs. This includes public broadcasters like KBS, MBC, and EBS, as well as the two news channels. The law mandates that news channels form their PRCs in consultation with their majority unions and include these procedures in their corporate articles of incorporation. While the law stipulated completion within three months of its enactment, neither YTN nor Yonhap News TV met this deadline.

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The company has proposed forming a parity-based committee and recommending three candidates to the board. We plan to sit down and present our demands again.

The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) issued a corrective order on May 15, demanding both channels finalize the procedures by the end of July. The KCSC warned YTN, which has shown no progress, that failure to comply could result in measures such as revocation of its broadcasting license or a shortened license period. In contrast, Yonhap News TV had previously agreed to a parity-based PRC that would recommend three candidates, but an emergency board meeting on May 28 failed to reach a consensus.

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Seeing the company walking towards mutual destruction, the behavior of the two internal directors (Kim Dae-ho and Shin Ji-hong) who are only concerned with 'taking care of the largest shareholder' is a clear dereliction of duty as management.

The core issue at Yonhap News TV involves its largest shareholder, Yonhap News Agency, which holds a 29% stake. Yonhap News Agency seeks to appoint all company representatives to the PRC, a move opposed by other major shareholders. The board has convened three times to discuss amending the articles of incorporation regarding the PRC, but disagreements persist, with directors appointed by Yonhap News Agency demanding absolute authority, which other directors reject. The labor union at Yonhap News TV criticized the two internal directors, Kim Dae-ho and Shin Ji-hong, for prioritizing the major shareholder's interests over the company's future and the livelihoods of its employees, calling their actions a dereliction of duty.

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Please look at the living spaces of Yonhap News TV members first, not the interests of the largest shareholder.