Yang Seung-dong

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).

In this Korean name, the family name is Yang.
Yang Seung-dong
양승동
President of the Korean Broadcasting System
In office
9 April 2018 – 9 December 2021
Preceded byGoh Dae-young
Succeeded byKim Eui-chul
Personal details
Born (1961-07-15) 15 July 1961
Gongju, South Chungcheong, South Korea
CitizenshipSouth Korean
Alma materKorea University
OccupationJournalist

Career

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]

20190423제24회 KBS119상 시상식6(KBS 사장 양승동 소방청장 정문호)
20190423제24회 KBS119상 시상식6(KBS 사장 양승동 소방청장 정문호)

Controversies

Sewol tragedy karaoke incident

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]

End of long-lived programmes

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]

Tonight Kim Je-dong

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]

Filmography
  • KBS Special
  • Good Insight
  • History Special
  • In Depth 60 Minutes
  • Man History
  • World Report

References
  1. "양승동(58회) 동문, 제24대 KBS 사장 취임". 19 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  2. "양승동 콘텐츠 앞세워 KBS 개혁, 야당 따가운 눈초리는 부담". 13 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  3. ""적폐청산" "토론·비판" "공정성" KBS 사장 후보들의 목표". 23 February 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  4. "양승동, 임기 실화야?". 9 April 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  5. "양승동 KBS 사장 재선임 "경쟁력 있는 공영방송 만들겠다"". 31 October 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  6. "KBS 새 사장 후보에 양승동 PD". 26 February 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  7. "KBS 사원행동, 오늘 공식 출범". 11 August 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  8. "[단독] MB정부에 맞선 양승동 PD "KBS 사장 출마하겠다"". 6 February 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  9. "KBS 사장 후보 양승동 PD "자본·정치권력에서 독립"". 26 February 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  10. "KBS 사원행동 양승동·김현석 파면 파문". 16 January 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  11. "KBS 양승동·김현석 파면에서 정직4개월로". 29 January 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  12. "文대통령, 양승동 KBS 사장 임명안 재가". 6 April 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  13. Yang, So-young (12 May 2020). "KBS, 세계 공영방송 코로나19 긴급 태스크포스 참여". MBN News Channel (in Korean). Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  14. "세월호 참사 당일 노래방 출입 부인하던 양승동, 증거 나오자 "송구"". 30 March 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  15. "'콘서트 7080' 폐지…14년 프로 종영, 이유도 설명 않는 KBS". 29 October 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  16. "'배철수의 콘서트 7080' 수상한 폐지 계기로 짚어 본 문재인 정부 방송 장악 실상'". 8 November 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  17. "'오늘밤 김제동', "공산당이 좋다"던 男 불러 '김정은 찬양 인터뷰' 방송 논란". 6 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  18. "KBS공영노조, 양승동 사장 등 국보법 위반혐의 고발". 18 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  19. "나경원, KBS '오늘밤 김제동' 때리기…"의원들 출연말라"". 14 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
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