Lee Jin-sook, who has been tapped as the new head of the broadcasting regulator, is a former TV journalist who is recognized as South Korea’s first female war reporter.

Lee’s nomination as the head of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) came two days after former KCC Chairman Kim Hong-il voluntarily stepped down amid opposition parties’ push to impeach him.

Lee, 63, earned her bachelor’s degree at Kyungpook National University in 1983 and started her career as a journalist at MBC in 1987.

During her time in the press, she was recognized for her expertise in the Middle East and her title as the country’s “first female war correspondent” for reporting on the 1990-91 Gulf War and the Iraq War.

After leaving MBC in 2018, she made a bid for the parliamentary elections in 2020, but failed to win the primary at the conservative Liberty Korea Party, which is now the ruling People Power Party (PPP).

Lee also worked for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s election campaign in 2021, and ran for Daegu mayorship in 2022.

Source: Yonhap News Agency