Mayor Oh doesn’t want TBS funding cut
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said he disagrees with the cutting of the budget of a city-run radio station accused of political bias.
Parliament convened an audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday, bringing in the fourth-term mayor to his first government audit since being re-elected.
Rep. Lim Ho-seon of the DP asked Oh about budget cuts for radio station TBS, the Seoul mayor took a step back.
“I have a different stance from the Seoul Metropolitan Council, which proposed to cut the budget for TBS,” Oh said.
“I’m keeping a close eye on the movement of TBS’s union,” he said. “I hope there will be an internal change.”
TBS, which started as a transportation broadcasting headquarters for the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 1990, is largely funded by Seoul. The station’s main radio program, News Factory, hosted by outspoken left-winger Kim Ou-joon, has been caught in controversy due to the host’s support of the liberal Democratic Party (DP).
In July, the Seoul city council tabled a proposal to cut financial support to TBS. If the proposal is passed, TBS will lose 30 billion won ($20.94 million) in annual support from the city government starting next July 1, which is 70 percent of its budget.
Oh was critical of the political bias of TBS.
“TBS is a public broadcaster, and it is very important for the press to have the capability of reforming themselves,” Oh said. “It is obviously true that TBS is politically biased.
“A person who publicly endorsed a particular political party, moreover a particular faction, is the host of the flagship radio show [of TBS] and he is not hiding his thoughts,” Oh added, referring to Kim.
Last Friday, TBS formed a special committee in response to the threats of future budget cuts with representatives from the board of directors, general public as well as the labor unions.
The committee plans to discuss a future vision for the station and measures for financial independence.
BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]