South Korea's top court upheld a ruling that backed the dismissal of a former head of public broadcaster KBS for meddling in news reporting on the 2014 deadly ferry disaster, court records showed Monday.
The Supreme Court rejected Gil Hwan-young's request to nullify his removal from office, saying there was no judicial error in the previous rulings.
Gil, who headed South Korea's largest broadcaster from late 2012, was fired in June 2014 after it was revealed that he interfered in the news reporting process in favor of the government when the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol sank off the country's southwestern coast in April that year. The disaster left more than 300 people dead or missing, with many of the victims being high school students on a field trip.
Gil, 62, filed a suit with the Seoul Administrative Court in August 2014, claiming that he does not hold enough responsibility subject to firing, adding that at the time, other news outlets were also criticized for their poor reports on the disaster.
Unionized workers scuffle with security guards at the headquarters of South Korean broadcaster KBS in Seoul on Nov. 26, 2012, as they attempt to block a car carrying the network's then newly-appointed chief Gil Hwan-young from entering the headquarters. (Yonhap)
Still, the administrative court and an appeals court said considering KBS's status as a public broadcaster, and how its reports affected the bereaved families and the public trust, the plaintiff cannot be waived of liability. (Yonhap)MOST POPULAR