방송통신위원회의 이중적 성격 ― 독립행정위원회와 중앙행정기관 사이에서 ―

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) is a central administrative agency under the President and has the character of an independent administrative commission. Independence, neutrality, and expertise are important factors for independent administrative commissions, and although similar to independent regulatory commissions in the United States, there are differences in terms of legal nature and authority. In Korea, there is no consistent principle for the composition of committees, and each organization is designed to reflect its own characteristics. In addition to presidential appointments, democratic legitimacy and the protection of interests are pursued through recommendations from the National Assembly and various sectors. To ensure flexibility in the composition of organizations, there are alternatives such as self-recommendation, recommendation by the Prime Minister, automatic extension of terms, acting duties, and relaxation of voting requirements. The decision-making method is based on the majority rule principle, but the quorum and voting quorum requirements vary from organization to organization, making it possible to classify them and requiring consideration in interpretation. The KCC has a unique structure in which only the President and the National Assembly participate in the recommendation of commissioners, which can make it difficult to form the committee in case of intensified political confrontation. There are also legal issues such as whether to fix the ratio of ruling and opposition party members, the issue of majority recommendations by the National Assembly, the nature of the President's appointment power, the expertise and disqualifications of commissioners, and impeachment of the chairperson. The current voting requirements only stipulate the voting quorum, leading to a controversy over the legality of a two-person system. The problems of the KCC stem from its organizational and legal structure, and it is desirable to maintain the independent administrative commission system, adjust it to be under the Prime Minister, and introduce an emergency decision-making system.