Supreme Court Overturns Broadcast Suspension of MBN

The Supreme Court of South Korea has officially annulled the six-month suspension imposed by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) on the comprehensive programming channel, Maeil Broadcasting Network (MBN). On February 13, the Supreme Court's second division, led by Justice Park Young-jae, upheld the lower court's ruling in favor of MBN, confirming that the KCC's actions were unjustified.

In November 2020, the KCC had decided to suspend MBN's operations for six months, citing violations of the Broadcasting Act due to illegal capital contributions made during the channel's approval process. To mitigate the impact on MBN's partners, the KCC included a six-month grace period.

Disagreeing with the KCC's decision, MBN filed a lawsuit in January 2021. The first trial ruled in favor of the KCC, stating that MBN had submitted falsified financial statements and stock subscription documents to meet the required capital of 395 billion won (approximately $395 million).

However, the appellate court overturned this decision, arguing that the KCC failed to adequately consider the public interest and the potential harm to MBN, as well as the implications for press freedom and the public value of journalism. The court concluded that while MBN's actions were indeed improper, they did not fundamentally undermine the network's social function as a media outlet.

Following this ruling, the KCC sought to appeal, but the Supreme Court found no significant legal violations in the appellate court's decision and dismissed the appeal without further hearings, thereby finalizing the ruling in favor of MBN.