Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Chairperson Lee Jin-sook attends the Constitutional Court's hearing on her impeachment in Seoul, Jan. 23. Joint Press Corps.

The Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected a National Assembly vote to impeach Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Chairperson Lee Jin-sook over what opposition lawmakers said was a controversial decision-making process at the state broadcasting watchdog.

The opposition-led National Assembly voted to impeach Lee on Aug. 2, just two days after she took office, accusing her of making KCC decisions with only two members while leaving the other three of the commission's five-member standing committee vacant.

In a 4-to-4 decision, however, the Constitutional Court ruled against her impeachment. By law, the court requires the consent of at least six justices to endorse the impeachment. Lee, whose duties were suspended following the Aug. 2 impeachment, was immediately put back into office.

The impeachment motion against Lee was introduced by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and five other minor parties in an attempt to block what they call the President Yoon Suk Yeol government's push to control public broadcasting.

The opposition has accused Lee and her predecessors under the Yoon administration of unfairly running the watchdog's decision-making standing committee, making decisions with two members while leaving the other three of the five positions vacant.

Soon after her inauguration, Lee held a meeting with Kim Tae-gyu, a newly appointed member of the KCC's standing committee, and appointed six new directors at the Foundation for Broadcast Culture, the major shareholder of MBC TV, in a move strongly denounced by the DPK.

Lee had appeared in Constitutional Court hearings three times, arguing that she had simply performed her duties in accordance with established laws and procedures, and there was no reason for her dismissal. (Yonhap)