YTN union vows resistance against Eugene Group

Dec 12, 2025, 08:37 am

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Jun Jun-hyung, head of the YTN chapter of the National Union of Media Workers, poses for a photo during an interview. / Source: Jung Jae-hoon

Attention is mounting over whether YTN’s privatization could be reversed two years after it began, following a court ruling that found the decision to change the broadcaster’s largest shareholder to the Eugene Group unlawful.

Jun Jun-hyung, head of the YTN chapter of the National Union of Media Workers, said the ruling underscores the need to restore YTN to a public ownership structure after what he described as an improper privatization.

In an interview on December 9 at YTN’s headquarters in Sangam-dong, Seoul, Jun said the Eugene Group had “dismantled the systems that ensured fair broadcasting at YTN.” He argued that measures designed to separate ownership, management and editorial independence—such as the CEO recommendation committee and the consent system for appointing and dismissing the news director—were effectively neutralized, undermining the public mission of the all-news channel.

Jun also said serious problems surfaced during the process of selling YTN’s shares and called on the Broadcasting and Media Communications Commission to re-examine whether the Eugene Group qualifies as YTN’s largest shareholder.

“The Eugene Group has appealed the court ruling, so legal proceedings will continue, but in the administrative sphere, steps are being taken to form the Broadcasting and Media Communications Commission,” Jun said. “Once the commission is in place, it must first conduct a re-evaluation of the largest shareholder, the Eugene Group, and determine whether it meets the qualifications.”

Along with YTN employees, Jun has staged solo protests over the past six months demanding the removal of the Eugene Group, holding demonstrations at the group’s headquarters, YTN’s main office in Sangam-dong, and Seoul Tower on Namsan. More recently, protests have also taken place in front of the Government Complex in Gwacheon, where the broadcasting regulator is located.

“YTN’s privatization was an attempt to muzzle a broadcaster critical of power,” Jun said. “The Eugene Group, which became the largest shareholder through a rushed and flawed review, must be stripped of its qualifications. We will resist to the very end against the Eugene Group that has destroyed fair broadcasting.”

#YTN #Eugene Group #privatization #fair broadcasting