Former KTV head Lee Eun-woo indicted for insurrection propaganda

A special prosecution team has indicted Lee Eun-woo, the former head of the Korea Television (KTV) public broadcasting channel, on charges of insurrection propaganda related to the December 3 martial law incident.

According to the prosecution, Lee utilized his authority over news bulletins and scrolling news tickers to repeatedly broadcast information justifying the martial law and decrees between December 3 and December 13, 2024. Simultaneously, he is accused of selectively blocking or deleting information that criticized or sought to stop the insurrection to induce public sympathy for the martial law measures.

The special prosecution team has defined the period of the insurrection as lasting until December 14, 2024, rather than the date the martial law was lifted on December 4. This determination is based on the fact that the insurrection, characterized as an ‘insurrection from above,’ only concluded when the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against former President Yoon Suk Yeol, which suspended his duties.

Lee previously faced charges of abuse of power for ordering the deletion of critical news segments and received a first-instance sentence of one year in prison suspended for two years, a ruling currently under appeal.