Korean public broadcaster, KBS, today expressed “deep regret” at the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) proposal to remove its chairman, Nam Young-jin, and asked the government to lay off the country’s public broadcasters.

“KBS reiterates its call on the government to stop unwarranted pressure on public broadcasting,” the organisation said.

The KCC plenary session voted in favour of the proposal to remove Nam at a meeting today.

Reasons range from neglecting his responsibilities, excessive use of corporate credit cards, damaging KBS’ reputation and “greatly reducing public trust”.

After the vote, KBS said it had been hounded by various government agencies for the past year.

“The government has been intensely investigating and pressuring KBS through various agencies, including the Comptroller General's Office, the National Tax Service, the Ministry of Labor, and the Public Prosecutor's Office,” the broadcaster said.

KBS also said the commission had supported “social chaos” in allowing changes to Korea’s TV licence fee payment infrastructure to be pushed through in just over a month.

“As if that weren't enough, we are now dismissing several directors of public broadcasting, including the director of the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Council, EBS, which manages and oversees MBC as well as KBS, almost simultaneously,” KBS said.

“Even more worrisome is that the Korea Communications Commission, a five-member consensus body that emphasises independence, has been pushing through this process for just over two months, causing a procedural legitimacy dispute in the absence of two members,” it added.