The president of South Korean broadcaster MBC offered to resign Friday over the government regulator's refusal to approve a planned merger of two regional stations, the broadcaster said.

   Kim Jae-chul submitted a letter of resignation to MBC's largest shareholder, the Foundation for Broadcast Culture, the company said.

   The resignation was "to take responsibility for the Korea Communications Commission's postponement of a decision to approve the proposed merger between MBC's Jinju and Changwon branches," it said.

   The nation's broadcasting regulator on Wednesday last week decided to put off the issue after a heated debate over the merger plan, which Kim has pushed for ambitiously.

   But an MBC official said the resignation offer appears to be an attempt to press the commission and that Kim did not show up for work on Friday.

   The broadcaster's labor union was trying to figure out the exact reason for the resignation.

   "His resignation offer might not be accepted if it was simply motivated by the postponed merger plan, but it also could be part of his preparations to run in next year's parliamentary election," a union official said.

   Kim, 57, was elected to serve out the remaining one-year term of former MBC chief Ohm Ki-young, who resigned in February last year. Kim secured an additional three-year term in February this year.

   A graduate of Korea University in Seoul, Kim joined MBC in 1979 and has since worked as a reporter, editor and Tokyo correspondent.

He also served as head of MBC's regional station in the southeastern city of Ulsan and is a director of the Korean Broadcasting Association. (Yonhap News)