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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yang Seung-dong (Korean: 양승동, born 15 July 1961) is a South Korean journalist. He served as the 23rd and 24th President of the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS).
Yang Seung-dong | |
---|---|
양승동 | |
President of the Korean Broadcasting System | |
In office 9 April 2018 – 9 December 2021 | |
Preceded by | Goh Dae-young |
Succeeded by | Kim Eui-chul |
Personal details | |
Born | Gongju, South Chungcheong, South Korea | 15 July 1961
Citizenship | South Korean |
Alma mater | Korea University |
Occupation | Journalist |
Born in Gongju, Yang was educated at Kimin Secondary School and Daejeon High School.[1][2] He earned a bachelor's degree in political science and international relations,[2] as well as a master's degree in international politics from Korea University.[3][4]
Yang was hired to KBS as a producer of the Issue and Culture Department in 1989,[3][4][5] and directed TV programmes such as KBS Special, Good Insight, History Special, In Depth 60 Minutes and so on.[3][4] In 2007, he served as the President of Korean Producers and Directors Association and KBS Producers and Directors Association, and as the Organisation and Production Director of KBS Busan in 2013.[6]
In 2008, Yang was one of the co-Presidents of the KBS Employees Action to Defend Public Broadcasting (shortly Employees Action), an organisation fighting against the media control of the President of the Republic, Lee Myung-bak.[7] The organisation also aimed to protect the incumbent KBS President Chung Yeon-joo from dismissal.[8][9] After Lee Byung-soon replaced Chung, Yang was sacked from KBS,[10] but filed an appeal so that the punishment was eased to 4-month suspension.[11] He was assigned to the Non-production Department for 2 years.[3][9][2]
On 5 February 2018, almost a year after Moon Jae-in and the Democratic Party of Korea came to power, Yang announced his bid for KBS presidency after considering for a month.[8] According to an interview with Media Today, he explained that one of his juniors advised him to take the office.[8] He also added that KBS, as a public broadcasting, should be independent from bureaucrats and capitals, citing examples of JTBC and MBC.[8] On 26 February, Yang was formally chosen as the sole presidential candidate for KBS.[9][6] The decision was subsequently endorsed by National Union of Mediaworkers KBS (shortly KBS New Trade Union).[9] On 6 April, he was officially appointed by the President of the Republic Moon Jae-in, though he failed to pass the National Assembly hearing process, in which the Liberty Korea Party opposed his appointment.[12]
On 31 October 2018, Yang was re-elected for his office, after passing an interview of KBS board of directors and citizens' advisories.[5] His inauguration was held on 12 December 2018.[2] In his capacity as President of KBS, Yang has also been a member of the Global Task Force for Public Media, an initiative of the Public Media Alliance, since May 2020.[13]
On 30 March 2018, during the parliamentary hearing session, a Liberty Korea MP Park Dae-chool said that he received a report, which Yang was at a karaoke in Haeundae on 16 April 2014, the day of the MV Sewol tragedy.[14] Yang at first denied it, but soon Park revealed a statement describing that Yang purchased at a karaoke via KBS credit card on the day of the tragedy.[14] Another Liberty Korea MP, Min Kyung-wook, criticised, "Although he did not breach the law, he kept denying the facts. It means that he disdained the Parliament."[14] In the end, Yang finally apologised.[14]
Yang was widely criticised for ending several long-lived programmes, such as KBS TV Novel (1987-2018), KBS News Line (1994-2018), Viewers Column The World We Live In (1998-2018), VJ's on the scene (2000-2018), Smart Consumer Report (2007-2018), and so on.[15]
Controversies were provoked when KBS decided to end Concert 7080 (2004-2018) but did not explain the actual reason.[15] Sunday Journal, a US-based Korean newspaper called the action as the "media control of the Moon Jae-in administration worse than the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye".[16] The newspaper also criticised that the new programmes i.e. Tonight Kim Je-dong and Your Red Cheek have low ratings than the old ones.[16]
Yang has also been criticised for Tonight Kim Je-dong, a new programme organised under his presidency.[16] Sunday Journal cited that Kim Je-dong, the programme's emcee, receives high performance fees despite its low ratings.[16]
On 4 December 2018, the programme broadcast an interview with Kim Soo-geun, a founder of the now-defunct Youth Party and the incumbent President of the Welcome to The Great, who praised Kim Jong-un during the interview session.[17] The KBS Public Trade Union filed a lawsuit against Yang and the in charges under the breach of the National Security Act.[18] Na Kyung-won, the Liberty Korea parliamentary leader, urged its all MPs to not appear on the programme.[19]
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