The prosecution on Wednesday raided the head office of the Korea Communications Commission(KCC) as part of its probe into allegations that the commission committed illegalities in the process of renewing the broadcasting license for the now-defunct Gyeonggi Broadcasting Corporation.

The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office sent investigators to the KCC headquarters in Gwacheon to secure records related to the commission’s 2019 license renewal evaluation of the Gyeonggi-based firm.

The raid comes eight days after KCC Chairman Han Sang-hyuk was detained without physical detention on suspicions of manipulating the broadcasting license renewal deliberation of TV Chosun, a right-leaning cable TV channel, in 2020.

Gyeonggi Broadcasting Corporation, which launched in 1997, had its broadcasting license renewed for four more years in 2019, with conditions attached. 

Though it failed to secure enough points for the renewal, the firm ended up getting its license renewed out of the necessity to protect the Gyeonggi residents’ right to tune in. In renewing the license, the KCC added the condition that the firm exclude executive directors from management and hire a CEO within three months.

In March of the following year, the corporation decided to close, citing a sharp drop in sales following significant reduction in its budget amid what it described as an unprecedented crackdown on the media. 

Prosecutors suspect that the KCC deliberately slashed the evaluation score of Gyeonggi Broadcasting Corporation during its renewal review.