[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Broadcasting Media and Communications Commission Faces Scrutiny Over CI Leaks; Kim Jong-cheol: "Reviewing CI Expiration System with Changes Every 1-3 Years"

Dispute Over the Legality of YTN's Privatization Process

Yonhap News Agency

At the October 12 parliamentary audit of the Broadcasting Media and Communications Commission, lawmakers raised the need to improve the Connecting Information (CI) system following a series of personal data leaks, as well as the government's involvement in the sale of YTN shares.

The National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee conducted an audit of the Broadcasting Media and Communications Commission and the Broadcasting Media and Communications Review Commission at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, with their chairpersons, Kim Jong-cheol and Go Gwang-heon, among the witnesses appearing on behalf of the agencies. Lawmakers called for improvements to the CI system and other measures.

CI is unique identifying information generated by identity verification agencies based on residents' registration numbers to identify the same person online. CI data was leaked last year at Lotte Card, TVING and Woori Bank, among others. However, lawmakers raised concerns that the risk of data leaks could persist because it is difficult to change CI even after personal information is exposed. Choi Hyung-doo of the People Power Party said, "Once leaked, CI, which was introduced to replace residents' registration numbers, effectively has to be used unchanged for life." He urged the government to "quickly establish an institutional framework to introduce an expiration period for CI and enable people to renew CI that has already been leaked."

Kim Sun-min of the Rebuilding Korea Party also said, "In last year's personal data leak at Lotte Card, CI data belonging to 1.29 million people was exposed. This year, seven organizations have been confirmed to have suffered CI leaks in the space of a year, including TVING, where 13.24 million records were exposed." Kim added, "People use the same CI no matter which website they sign up for, so a single leak can become a key that links information scattered across multiple places, with extremely serious consequences."

Kim said, "If consumers cannot change their CI, they should at least be able to ask not to use it." Kim added, "Standards should be established to provide alternative procedures for users who do not wish to use CI, and users should be guaranteed the right to request a CI renewal regardless of the agency, even after a CI expiration system is introduced."

In response, Broadcasting Media and Communications Commission Chairperson Kim Jong-cheol said, "We are reviewing an expiration system under which CI would be changed every one to three years," adding, "We are preparing legislative improvements to address the CI issue comprehensively."

The Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee also launched an intensive review of the legality of YTN's privatization. Last month, the Board of Audit and Inspection released its audit findings, concluding that the then Korea Communications Commission and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy had improperly intervened in the sale of YTN shares held by KEPCO KDN and the Korea Racing Authority. Previously, KEPCO KDN and the Korea Racing Authority had decided to sell only 29.99% (12,599,999 shares) of their combined 30.95% stake in YTN, so that more companies could participate in the bidding. Under the Broadcasting Act, large corporations and other entities cannot hold 30% or more of a broadcaster's shares.

However, the Board of Audit and Inspection's investigation found that Lee Dong-kwan, then chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, had asked the vice minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to have the two organizations sell all of their YTN shares. The ministry later instructed and urged KEPCO KDN and the Korea Racing Authority to sell their entire stakes. The Board of Audit and Inspection said the process undermined the public institutions' autonomous decision-making and restricted potential buyers from participating in the bidding. The committee called current and former Korea Communications Commission officials who had handled the YTN share sale and the approval of changes as witnesses, and questioned them about why the stake to be sold was changed from the original 29.99% to the entire 30.95%, as well as how the commission and the ministry intervened.

Criticism was also voiced that while the broadcasting market is being reshaped around online video services (OTT) and online platforms, weakening the revenue base of traditional broadcasters, the burden-sharing system for the Broadcasting and Communications Development Fund remains rooted in the old market structure. Kim Woo-young of the Democratic Party of Korea said, "The need for institutional reform is growing as cable TV (SO) operators, despite their financial difficulties, have filed administrative lawsuits in protest against a levy collection rate that has remained unchanged for nine years." He added, "We need to examine whether it is reasonable to keep the collection rate unchanged for nine years when SO operators' profitability has deteriorated significantly."

Meanwhile, a heated exchange broke out during the audit after People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-sook recently visited the grave of President Lee Jae-myung's parents in person and raised allegations of violations of the Farmland Act. After Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Jung-heon strongly criticized her actions as "politics that violates basic human decency," People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jang-gyeom countered that it was "the hypocrisy of Democratic Party lawmakers who launched a new agency to drive Chairperson Lee out." Lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties then engaged in a fierce dispute.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.