In his inaugural address, Lee promised to “secure the independence and autonomy of KBS, turning it into a public broadcaster that earns the viewers fees and makes viewers want to pay more.” He promised to make KBS a strong organization by introducing effective competition.

He put particular emphasis on responsible management, promising to “create a working environment where everybody is held responsible for the outcome of his or her own work” and transfer substantial authority to bureau chiefs and heads of KBS subsidiaries but hold them responsible for the results of their management.

Lee said he would “give serious thought to whether to maintain some programs that have been criticized in and outside KBS and other programs that have failed to seek changes despite public controversy they've caused," he said. "Over the past years, KBS has not been free from public controversy over fairness and neutrality. If it is biased toward a certain interest group, KBS will see its raison d'etre jeopardized,” he said.

Meanwhile, some 40 to 50 members of a group of KBS employees rallied since early morning in support of former president Jung Yun-joo, who was seen as a loyal servant of the previous government and fired in a scandal involving mismanagement and favoritism. They blocked the main entrance of KBS headquarters to prevent Lee from being inaugurated, but Lee entered the building at about 9:50 a.m. after security guards scuffled with protesters for some 10 minutes.

(englishnews@chosun.com )