Director's disciplinary action approved two years ago after the controversy over "Unification TV"...Court "Unfair"

When Tongil TV, a North Korean broadcaster, created a controversy, a court ruled that it was unfair to discipline a public official who approved the registration of the broadcast.

The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by civil servant A against the Ministry of Science and ICT in October last year, asking him to cancel his suspension.

The court said that if a public official is disciplined whenever a problem arises, the public official in charge of the examination has no choice but to maintain an extremely conservative position.

Tongil TV was approved for business registration in May 2021, when A was working as the director of the Ministry of Science and ICT's Broadcasting Channel Soldier Registration Department.

Earlier, Tongil TV was denied two applications for registration on the grounds that it could undermine the public responsibility of the broadcast, but after A's appointment, the department's working-level staff decided that the reason for rejection of registration was resolved.

Since then, Unification TV aired videos produced in North Korea and the transmission was suspended in January last year. After the controversy, the government suspended A for one month for violating the duty of sincerity of public officials, such as ordering him to "positively review permission."

Unification TV is also a channel where Pastor Choi Jae-young was the head of the department, and Pastor Choi handed over a luxury bag to First Lady Kim Gun-hee in September last year and asked her to resume transmission of Unification TV.