Broadcasting watchdog chief’s confirmation hearing set for next week

A parliamentary committee said Tuesday that it will hold a confirmation hearing for the new chief of the state broadcasting watchdog next week. The science, ICT, broadcasting and communications committee said it made the decision during its plenary meeting to hold the confirmation hearing for Lee Jin-sook, a former journalist of public broadcaster MBC, next Wednesday and Thursday. Lee was nominated by President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this month after former Korea Communications Commission Chairman Kim Hong-il voluntarily stepped down amid opposition parties' push to impeach him. Born in 1961, Lee earned her bachelor's degree at Kyungpook National University in 1983 and started her career as a journalist at MBC in 1987. During her time in the press, she was recognized for her expertise on the Middle East and her title as the country's "first female war correspondent" for reporting on the 1990-91 Gulf War and the Iraq War. The confirmation hearing is widely seen as a formality because her formal appointmen t does not require the endorsement of the National Assembly. In South Korea, the prime minister is the only Cabinet post that requires parliamentary approval. Source: Yonhap News Agency