KBS orders to put off broadcast of Sewol Ferry documentary

2024.02.16 17:10
Ko Hee-jin

KBS orders to put off broadcast of Sewol Ferry documentary

A documentary on the 10th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, which will be aired on KBS in April, is on the verge of being canceled because it could affect the general election.

The producers of KBS' "Docu Insight" made the announcement in a letter to members of the Association of KBS Producers on February 15. According to the producers, KBS was scheduled to air "The 10th Anniversary of Sewol Ferry disaster - I'll Live with the Wind" on April 18 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster.

According to the producers, they were more than 80 percent done with casting and 40 percent done with filming, so they had no problem meeting the broadcast date, but the production headquarters instructed them to postpone the broadcast until June. The production team said that if the broadcast schedule is changed, the actual broadcast will not be possible until August or September.

The reason given by the head of the production headquarters for not broadcasting in April was that it would "affect the general election," according to the production team. The 22nd general election is April 10, and the broadcast is scheduled for April 18, eight days later. When they protested, the head of the production department said, "I believe that one or two months before and after the general election are influential," the crew said.

"The head of the production department learned of the news (that it will be aired on April 18) a week after his appointment, and on Saturday night, he convened the executives and told them to urgently change the production schedule." "April 16 is the 10th anniversary of the Sewol ferry, so almost all broadcasters will cover it, but the KBS production department cannot broadcast at this time," they said.

The crew reportedly held a producers' meeting on the same day to complain about the unfairness of the rescheduling. "We cannot broadcast a show in August that was produced to air on April 18," they wrote, adding, "We will share the situation with the members of the association."

The head of the production department who ordered the change in programming was appointed after the appointment of KBS President Park Min. The KBS headquarters of the National Media Workers' Union, KBS' bargaining representative union, issued a special report on the 7th, saying, "Since the appointment of the head of production, there have been signs of infringement on production autonomy, especially in Current Affairs and Culture Department 1."

KBS has been criticized for becoming a "pro-government broadcaster" since Park took over. During a special interview with President Yoon Suk-yeol ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, anchor Park Jang-beom was criticized for diminishing the incident by referring to the luxury bag Kim Keon-hee received as "a so-called pouch, a small bag made in a foreign company."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.

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