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Ex-KCC chief asks court to review legality of her detention

Published: 03 Oct. 2025, 12:33

Lee Jin-sook, former head of the now-defunct Korea Communications Commission, speaks to reporters at the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station in western Seoul on Oct. 2. [YONHAP]

Lee Jin-sook, former head of the now-defunct Korea Communications Commission (KCC), filed Friday for a court review of the legality of her detention.

Lee was taken into custody Thursday on suspicion of violating election law and breaching political neutrality. She was questioned for about three hours.

Her request was submitted to the Seoul Southern District Court and argues that the alleged offenses cannot be supported, Lee's lawyer, Lim Moo-young, told reporters at Yeongdeungpo Police Precinct, where she is held.

Police said they plan to resume questioning Lee in the morning and will decide later in the day whether to seek a warrant to formally arrest her.

The former KCC chief is accused of breaching political neutrality by making partisan remarks on conservative YouTube channels in September last year.

The remarks were also deemed to violate election law, as they were allegedly aimed at obstructing the election of President Lee Jae Myung.

Police said her detention followed her repeated failure to comply with summonses for questioning, but Lee countered that she had provided reasons for her absence each time.

Her detention came just one day after she was automatically removed from office following the enactment of a government reorganization bill that abolished the KCC, the state telecommunications regulator, and created a new body overseeing the broadcasting and telecom sectors, the Korea Media and Communications Commission.

Lee was appointed to a three-year term by former President Yoon Suk Yeol in July 2024.

Yonhap