Prosecutors plan to call in a former head of the TV station MBC for questioning over suspicions that he worked with the state intelligence agency under former President Lee Myung-bak to oust reporters, producers and TV celebrities unfriendly toward the administration.

Kim Jae-chul, who headed MBC from 2010-2013, is known for scrapping programs critical of the then Lee government, and firing reporters and producers or transferring them to irrelevant duties. His tenure was marred by a long strike in 2012.

According to investigation sources, the National Intelligence Service is believed to have discussed with Kim and other management executives to oust those unfriendly toward the Lee administration. An NIS agent recently admitted during questioning to verbally conveying to MBC executives content of an NIS document on such measures.

It has already been known that the NIS attempted to neutralize the then labor union of the TV station critical of conservative President Lee. What's additionally been revealed is that an NIS agent briefed MBC executives on the content of a document on the operation.

An internal NIS investigation has already found that the agency drew up a document on ways to "normalize" MBC at the instruction of then NIS Director Won Sei-hoon amid perceptions among power holders that the TV station has become too liberal-leaning.

But then MBC executives rejected suspicions that the NIS influenced the broadcaster's personnel decisions.

Jun Young-bae, who served as head of MBC's planning bureau under Kim, has acknowledged during a recent prosecution questioning that he met with the NIS agent, but he insisted that personnel decisions at the time were made at the management's own discretion. (Yonhap)