South Korea's Broadcast Media Telecommunications Commission said on May 29 it has made its final selection of groups that will nominate directors for public broadcasters.

The commission held its 14th plenary meeting for 2026 and confirmed 15 groups in total, with 5 for each broadcaster.

For KBS and the Munhwa Broadcasting Foundation, it selected 3 broadcasting and media-related academic societies including the Korea Broadcast Association, the Korean Association for Journalism and Communication Studies, and the Korean Association for Journalism and Communication Studies, as well as 2 lawyer groups including the Korea Bar Association and Lawyers for a Democratic Society. For EBS, it selected the same 3 academic societies and 2 education-related groups including the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union and the Federation of Korean Teachers' Associations.

Earlier, the commission passed a selection plan at a plenary meeting on May 15 and ran an open call from May 18 to May 26. It then formed a screening panel of 12 experts across 5 fields: broadcasting and media, law, economics, management and accounting, technology, and viewers and consumers. The panel conducted screenings on May 27 and May 28. Lee Won-woo (이원우), a professor at Seoul National University School of Law, served as chair of the panel.

The commission plans to ask the selected nominating groups to recommend director candidates by June 26. For KBS and the Munhwa Broadcasting Foundation, the 3 academic societies will agree on 2 candidates and the 2 lawyer groups will each recommend 1, for a total of 4. For EBS, the 3 academic societies will agree on 1 candidate and the 2 education groups will each recommend 1, for a total of 3.

The commission plans to proceed with requesting the appointment of KBS directors and appointing directors for the Munhwa Broadcasting Foundation and EBS as soon as the nomination process is completed.

Commission chairman Kim Jong-cheol (김종철) said the panel was made up of experts and conducted strict screening to ensure the independence and fairness of public broadcasting. He said he expects the selected groups to recommend excellent director candidates that meet public expectations.