Seoul Vows to Widen Broadcasting Panel

The government said Saturday it plans to make sure the Korean Broadcasting System, a state-run radio-television network, better serves the public interest. The Culture-Information Ministry said the KBS advisory commission membership will be expanded from the present 21 to 30 people to include representatives of various sectors of society.

The Korean Broadcasting System has been under fire by opposition political groups and civic circles for concentrating on promoting government policies and slanting news in favor of the government. A public campaign is under way to boycott KBS news programs and to refuse to pay TV license fees to KBS.