SEOUL – Park Min, the newly appointed president and CEO of Korea Broadcasting System (KBS), has publicly apologized for the broadcaster's loss of public trust due to unfair and biased reporting under his predecessor. In a press conference, Park vowed to implement reform measures aimed at regaining trust and addressing financial challenges.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Yonhap News Agency, during a press conference at KBS headquarters, the broadcaster has undermined its core value of fairness, leading to a significant loss of public trust. He acknowledged past instances of false, unfair, or biased reporting and announced a series of measures to prevent recurrence. These measures include activating a fact-checking system, reporting corrective news at the beginning of news programs, conducting thorough investigations into major cases of unfair reporting, publishing white papers on them, and holding responsible parties accountable.
Park emphasized making fairness and reliability a top management priority. He also outlined plans to improve the broadcaster's financial situation, including a 30 percent pay cut for executives and expanding an honorary retirement program to address inefficient manpower structure. KBS faces challenges such as declining viewership and competition from private broadcasters. Additionally, the recent separation of license fee collection from electricity bills poses a threat to KBS's revenue stream. KBS has been charging a monthly fee to households with television receivers since 1994, previously included in the electricity invoice.