Ruling and opposition party lawmakers on the National Assembly’s broadcasting committee clashed on Friday over the legitimacy of the Korea Communications Commission(KCC) appointing board members of public broadcasters.

Ruling party lawmakers claimed that there is no problem in the KCC’s move to recommend last Wednesday candidates for directors of KBS and appointing directors of the Foundation for Broadcast Culture(FBC), which is the largest shareholder of MBC.

They added that whether the opposition’s claim that the KCC’s move was unlawful is a matter for the court. 

The opposition camp, on its part, has said illegalities were clearly committed in the commission’s move, and that to shed light on the matter, KCC chair Lee Jin-sook and vice-chair Kim Tae-kyu should appear before parliament. 

Ruling People Power Party(PPP) Rep. Park Choong-kwon said related laws stipulate that the KCC recommends or appoints board members of KBS and FBC, but no details are provided regarding the process.