Prosecution launches probe against KBS chief over suspected bribery

Prosecutors said Friday they launched an investigation into allegations that the head of public broadcaster KBS took bribes from state spy agency officials in return for not producing news reports against them.

An NIS reform committee requested the prosecution investigate KBS President Ko Dae-young on suspicions that he accepted 2 million won ($1,780) from National Intelligence Service officials in 2009, in exchange for agreeing not to report the NIS' alleged intervention in a prosecution investigation. Ko was then the managing editor of the KBS newsroom.  

KBS President Ko Dae-young on Oct. 26, 2017. (Yonhap)

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office summoned Seong Jae-ho, the current union head at KBS who has filed the complaint against Ko, for questioning, the office said.

Ko has flatly rejected the allegations as groundless. KBS has also filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the NIS chief and its reform committee. (Yonhap)