Kwon Soonpyo Anchor Steps Down From “News High Kick”…Will He Try to Become MBC’s Next CEO?

MBC’s flagship anchor, the top power in South Korea’s radio news-and-current-affairs programming, is putting the microphone down without warning. Behind the decision, a massive political shake-up is being flagged—one expected to rock the Sangam-dong area.

According to the media industry on the 19th, anchor 'Kwon Soonpyo' announced, "To prepare for a new challenge, I will wrap up hosting 'News High Kick' with the show airing until the 26th." The replacement host is expected to be revealed next week.

This is not just a change of programs. Eyes in and outside the broadcasting world are already focused on the 'race to appoint MBC’s next CEO'. At present, Kwon is at the very top of the candidate group for the next top executive and has been leading the speculation. The timing of his departure, which intriguingly lines up with the signal flare of CEO selection, supports that view.

In fact, the Korea Communications Commission is accepting recommendations for new board member candidates for 'the Foundation for Broadcast Culture and Development' (Bamdongjin)—MBC’s controlling shareholder—up through the 26th, the day of Kwon’s final broadcast. As soon as the reshuffling of the board is completed, the formal selection process for 'new leadership' to steer the large, long-haul vessel of MBC will get underway.

Kwon, who took his first steps at MBC’s News Bureau in 1995, is a 'career journalist' who has worked through key posts in the bureau, including anchor of the Editing Division 1 and head of the Social Affairs Division 1, after which he also served as a Paris correspondent. Since February, he has led public opinion from the front line of radio news and current affairs, but now he is leaving the studio to draw up a bigger blueprint.