The Broadcast Media Telecommunications Review Commission held a plenary meeting at 3 p.m. on March 23 at the Korea Broadcasting Hall in Mok-dong, Seoul, and elected commissioner Kim Woo-seok (김우석) as a standing member.

Kim is a former member of the Korea Communications Standards Commission. He has served as an adjunct professor at Kookmin University’s Graduate School of Public Administration and as an advisory member of the Presidential Committee for National Cohesion. He was recommended by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik in consultation with the People Power Party, and President Lee Jae-myung approved him as a commissioner on March 10.

The vote to elect Kim as a standing member had failed once at the first plenary meeting on March 12. Kim was identified as a figure who led heavy sanctions on coverage critical of the government while serving as a non-standing member during the tenure of former commission chief Ryu Hee-rim. Some members objected for that reason, and members of the Broadcast Media Telecommunications Review Commission branch of the National Union of Mediaworkers also urged him to resign.

The commission is made up of nine members: three appointed by the president, three recommended by the National Assembly speaker, and three recommended by the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee. It elects three standing members, including the chair and vice chair, by vote. Their term is three years, with one reappointment allowed.

The first-term members are nine people: presidential appointees Ko Kwang-heon, Kim Jun-hyun and Cho Seung-ho; National Assembly speaker recommendations Kim Min-jung, Choi Sun-young and Kim Woo-seok; and committee recommendations Koo Jong-sang, Kim Il-gon and Hong Mi-ae.