KCC chairman voluntarily resigns again to avoid impeachment

Kim Hong-il, chairman of Korea Communications Commission (KCC), voluntarily resigned on July 2 amid expectations that the National Assembly would vote on his impeachment. President Yoon Suk-yeol immediately accepted Kim's resignation. It seems to be intended to prevent Chairman Kim's duties from being suspended and the work of KCC, which is operated under a two-member system of its standing committee, from being paralyzed. The move comes seven months after former chairman Lee Dong-kwan voluntarily resigned ahead of his impeachment.

The presidential office said on the same day that Yoon "accepted the resignation of Chairman Kim and approved his dismissal." It announced the approval of the dismissal shortly after the news of Kim's resignation was reported by the media.

"The resignation is the only way to prevent the long-term suspension of broadcasting and communication media policies caused by the motion of impeachment promoted by the main opposition party," Kim said at his retirement ceremony at KCC in the Government Complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, immediately after Yoon accepted his resignation. The announcement and acceptance of the resignation appear to have been made quickly in unison.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) planned to vote on Kim’s impeachment in the National Assembly plenary session on the same day. Due to the distribution of seats, there is no way for the ruling People's Power Party (PPP) to stop the majority DPK from voting on the impeachment motion. In other words, Kim resigned himself, making the impeachment bill itself impossible as the subject of impeachment disappeared.

Kim's resignation is a trump card that could solve many of Yoon’s concerns. If the impeachment bill is approved by the National Assembly, Kim’s duties will be suspended until the Constitutional Court pronounces a judgment. For Yoon, the appointment of a new chairman of KCC after Kim’s dismissal is an option to reduce the duration of paralysis of the commission. It also prevents the fallout if the Constitutional Court actually concludes in favor of impeachment.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik criticized at the plenary session, saying, "The resignation of a person subject to impeachment ahead of the National Assembly’s vote is a violation of the Constitution's intention to give the legislature the right to impeach and is very irresponsible as a high-ranking official." On the other hand, an official from the presidential office told reporters, "I feel very sorry for the repeated situations in which the DPK kept talking about impeachment and the chairmen resigned."

This is the second "tricky resignation" by the ruling party to prevent the impeachment of the chairman of KCC following the resignation of former chairman Lee Dong-kwan in December last year. Lee Jin-sook, former president of Daejeon MBC, is considered to be the next chairperson. The PPP recommended Lee for the post in August last year, but she was not appointed as the DPK refused to vote. An official from the presidential office said, "I heard that Yoon ordered the process of appointing a successor to proceed well so that there is no gap in state affairs," adding, "It is unlikely that a successor will be decided today."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.