The Supreme Court is seen in this undated photo. Korea Times file

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an appeals court ruling that overturned the TV media watchdog's 2020 decision to impose a six-month shutdown penalty on cable channel MBN over illegal financing and accounting fraud.

The court ruled in favor of MBN in its lawsuit against the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), which had ordered the suspension of the service in October 2020 with a six-month grace period, citing violations of the Broadcasting Act.

MBN challenged the penalty, but the Seoul Administrative Court upheld it in 2022, holding the network accountable for illegal financing when it obtained its business license in 2010 and for subsequent accounting fraud to conceal the irregularity.

However, the Seoul High Court reversed the decision in September last year, acknowledging MBN's misconduct but ruling that it did not fundamentally undermine the channel's role as a news outlet.

The KCC appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court's decision, concluding there were no significant legal flaws in the ruling. (Yonhap)