Why Raising the KBS License Fee Is Inappropriate

KBS’s license fee increase proposal has been submitted to the National Assembly after approval by the Korea Communications Commission. It calls for raising the current 2,500 won fee by 50% to 3,800 won. Public anger is already high over KBS’s bloated management and politically biased reporting. If the National Assembly ignores this and passes the increase, backlash from viewers who must bear the fee is likely to be very strong.

The license fee was previously raised in 2007, 2010, and 2013. KBS has collected the fee under the slogan of creating a “public broadcaster” independent from political pressure. But controversy over the political bias of KBS programming is now greater than ever. At a time when there are serious doubts about whether it is properly fulfilling the role of a public broadcaster, KBS needs to ask itself whether it is even qualified to demand a fee increase.

Some viewers have said they will launch a movement to refuse payment of the license fee, and in some cases they have actually refused to pay. There is also strong resistance to the method of collecting it together with electricity bills. Such dissatisfaction with paying the fee itself reveals that there are serious problems with KBS broadcasting.

Public criticism questioning whether KBS can truly be called a “public broadcaster” has good reason behind it. The issue is the controversy over its bias toward a particular political ideology. It has been revealed that “KBS 1 Radio” repeatedly omitted and skipped over articles critical of North Korea or unfavorable to the ruling party. In a survey conducted by KBS among subscribers to its YouTube channel “KBS News,” more than 120,000 out of 160,000 respondents selected “the fairness of the news is the most disappointing aspect.” The continuing criticism that its programming is tailored to suit the tastes of a particular camp shows that KBS has failed to attain the standing of a true public broadcaster.

As KBS is demanding a license fee increase in the final stage of the Moon Jae-in administration, now in its fifth year in office, controversy over its political bias is growing. If the fee hike is being guaranteed as compensation for biased broadcasting in service of political power, that cannot but be a serious problem. The ruling party holds 180 seats, allowing it to push through virtually anything. If the fee increase proposal is handled as a reward for political benefit, it will go down in history as a mistake that shook freedom of the press to its core. In that case, the proposition that license fees are collected to create fair broadcasting would itself be a contradiction from the start.

KBS has exposed problems not only in its revenue structure but also in personnel management. Its board and executives have been criticized for displaying political bias. What has also angered the public is the fact that they appear not to work properly despite receiving high salaries. This has prompted criticism that KBS is a so-called iron rice bowl. Because KBS has the character of a public enterprise, retirement is guaranteed and the average annual salary exceeds 100 million won. Compared with other public enterprises, whose average is 79.42 million won, this is more than 20% higher. Even so, it has made no effort at restructuring and continues to operate its finances recklessly. It is not even subject to inspection by the Board of Audit and Inspection. Given this, KBS’s claims of financial deterioration can only sound all the more hollow.

For the KBS of today, a license fee increase is like a sweet candy. But it must not be seduced by that sweetness. Even if bitter in the mouth, taking the proper medicine is the wiser course. Rather than pursuing only its own interests behind the facade of being a public broadcaster, if it upholds the values the press ought to pursue, the public will respond in kind.

Rather than seeking the political solution of a license fee increase, KBS should demonstrate a willingness to address its fundamental problems. It must move beyond the controversy over political bias and perform the essential functions of the press, while practicing rationality and efficiency in organizational management and business operations. It should not take lightly the burden placed on the public, and it must fully carry out the responsibilities of a public broadcaster.

Sung-no Choi, President of the Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: KBS 수신료 인상이 부적절한 이유

Author: Sung-no Choi

Date: 2022-01-04

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=press&idx=24492