South Korea’s revised broadcasting law went into effect today, significantly altering the governance structure of public broadcaster KBS. The changes, approved by the National Assembly and finalized by the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, expand the KBS board of directors from 11 to 15 members, diversifying the appointment process.
Under the new law, the power to recommend board members is distributed among six parliamentary negotiating groups, three KBS staff representatives, two members from the viewer’s committee, two from broadcasting and media-related academic societies, and two from lawyer organizations, according to a statement released by the Broadcasting and Communications Committee on Monday. Current board members will continue to serve until their replacements are appointed, though their terms will be shortened.
The revision also introduces a new process for selecting the KBS president. A “Presidential Candidate Recommendation Committee” will be established for KBS, the Korea Broadcasting Advertising Corporation (KBA), and the Korean Educational Broadcasting System (EBS). For YTN and Yonhap News TV, a “Presidential Recommendation Committee” will be formed through labor-management consensus. The KBS board will then select the president candidate through a special majority vote, requiring the approval of at least three-fifths of its members.
The amended law further mandates the establishment of editorial committees for ground wave television broadcasters, comprehensive programming channel operators, and news-specialized broadcasting channels. These committees will consist of five members recommended by the broadcasters and five by employees, aiming to enhance editorial independence. The law expands the scope of mandatory viewer committees.
The changes to the KBS board composition and presidential selection process are intended to improve the public broadcaster’s governance and ensure greater independence, according to officials. The implementation of the revised broadcasting law follows its passage by the National Assembly on August 5th and subsequent approval by the State Council on August 18th, 2025. The Broadcasting and Communications Committee has yet to announce a timeline for establishing the new presidential candidate recommendation committee for KBS.
