A court ruled that the Korea Communications Commission must cancel its approval of a change in YTN’s largest shareholder. It said the decision was unlawful because the vote was taken by a two-member commission whose procedure was flawed.

The Administrative Court’s Division 3 of the Seoul Administrative Court, headed by Judge Choi Soo-jin, ruled on the 28th in favour of the YTN employee shareholders’ association in its suit seeking cancellation of the approval of the change in the largest shareholder. It dismissed the YTN union’s suit for lack of standing.

The court said the commission approved the change with only two members present, and that the procedure was unlawful because of a voting defect.

The court said that when interpreting the rule in the KCC Act requiring a majority of all commissioners, the meaning should not be limited to its wording. It said the constitutional guarantee of broadcasting freedom and the legislative intent to ensure freedom, public interest and independence through a collegial administrative body must be considered.

It said the commission, as a collegial administrative body, requires discussion, persuasion and deliberation in its decision-making. It said that with only two members, the exchange of differing views may be possible, but a single dissenting vote would block a decision, making majority rule difficult to apply.

It said the commission’s key decisions should ideally be made when all five commissioners are appointed and present, with at least three votes in favour. It said that even if fewer than five are present for unavoidable reasons, at least three commissioners must be present for the body to function substantively as a collegial organisation.

Earlier, Yujin ENT, a special purpose company established by Yujin Corporation and Dongyang, acquired a 30.95 percent stake in YTN held by KEPCO KDN and the Korea Racing Authority.

The commission approved Yujin ENT’s application for a change in the largest shareholder on February 7 last year.

The YTN branch of the media union and the employee shareholders’ association then filed a main suit and an injunction, arguing that the commission’s two-member decision was problematic. Their injunction requests had been dismissed or rejected.

[Yonhap]