South Korea’s Broadcast Media and Communications Commission voted to grant conditional renewals to radio stations that fell short of the required score in license reviews, while also easing some rules to support management turnarounds.
At its fifth plenary meeting of 2026, held April 29 at the Government Complex in Gwacheon, the commission approved three-year conditional renewals for 17 stations operated by three entities: 14 stations run by the Korean Broadcasting System, two stations run by MBC Gyeongnam Co., and Seoul’s media foundation tbs Traffic FM.
The stations had scored below 650 points in earlier renewal evaluations, triggering a hearing process. The commission held hearings on April 22 to review causes of deficiencies and improvement plans before making the final decision.
As renewal conditions, the commission ordered operator-specific corrective tasks, including expanded production and investment to strengthen public responsibility and local service, and steps to secure public interest functions. It said failure to meet the conditions could lead to cancellation of the renewals.
For KBS’ 14 stations, the commission required tailored improvement plans for each station, including increased production and investment. For MBC Gyeongnam’s Jinju and Changwon Second FM stations, it required improvement plans and performance reports covering broadcast evaluations, disaster broadcasting, and production and investment.
tbs Traffic FM was required to carry out a management normalization plan, improve its internal review system to strengthen fairness in broadcasting, and ensure transparency in the operation of donations.
The commission also decided to allow commercial advertising on tbs Traffic FM, citing worsened finances since tbs was removed from Seoul’s list of funded institutions in 2024 and the need to diversify revenue raised during the hearing process.
It said it could reconsider the advertising allowance if management conditions change, including any expansion of public support, to prevent harm to public interest and independence.
Commission Chairman Kim Jong-cheol said the decision aimed to strengthen broadcasters’ public responsibilities while allowing flexibility to respond to changes in the business environment. He said the commission will continue to check compliance and take strict action under relevant laws if conditions are not met.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.