Seoul: Former broadcasting and communications watchdog chief Lee Dong-kwan was found to have been unfairly involved in the sell-off of a controlling stake in YTN during 2023 when ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol was in office, according to the state auditor.
According to Yonhap News Agency, under the restructuring plan of the Yoon administration, Eugene ENT Co. acquired a 30.95 percent stake in YTN from two state-run companies: KEPCO KDN, a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corp., and the Korea Racing Authority. This acquisition made Eugene ENT Co. the largest shareholder of the broadcaster. Initially, the two state-run entities had agreed to sell only a 29.99 percent stake, aligning with regulations that prevent conglomerates from acquiring more than a 30 percent stake in broadcasters.
However, Lee Dong-kwan, who was then the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, which has since been renamed the Korea Media and Communications Commission, intervened. The audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) revealed that Lee demanded a vice industry minister, whose identity remains undisclosed, to ensure the complete sell-off of their stakes by the two state-run firms.
Lee further instructed officials of the broadcasting watchdog to formally urge the industry and agriculture ministries, which oversee the two firms, that it was preferable for them to divest their entire stake, as per the BAI findings. Consequently, the vice industry minister pressured the firms to amend their agreement, leading to the full stake sell-off.
The BAI highlighted that this intervention infringed upon the autonomy of KDN and the Korea Racing Authority's decision-making process. The alteration of the original agreement resulted in only three companies participating in the bidding, thereby excluding larger enterprises from the process.
The audit agency disclosed that it has forwarded its findings regarding Lee and the vice industry minister to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials. Despite the controversies surrounding the involvement of Lee and the minister, the auditor confirmed that the YTN stake was not sold below market value.