Prosecutors requested an arrest warrant Tuesday for the former chief of public broadcaster MBC over his alleged role in the spy agency's illicit scheme to control the media under the past Lee Myung-bak government.

Kim Jae-chul, who headed the TV network from 2010-2013, is accused of working with the National Intelligence Service to help the previous conservative administration seize control of MBC by weeding out staff and entertainers critical of the government.  

Former MBC chief Kim Jae-chul is shown in this file photo on Nov. 6, 2017, as he appeared for an interrogation over allegations that he engaged in a spy agency-led scheme to control public broadcasting channels under the Lee Myung-bak government. (Yonhap)
Prosecutors have charged him with violations of NIS and labor union laws, and obstruction of business, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Kim appeared for questioning on Monday and has denied any wrongdoing.

Prosecutors suspect that the spy agency gave him a list of people to be removed to "normalize" the broadcasting channel. During his term, MBC discontinued its signature current affairs program for being politically biased. Many of its TV producers and reporters were sacked or moved to posts unrelated to their fields. (Yonhap)