Democratic Party Proposes Broadcasting Act Amendment to Prevent False Reports in Disaster Situations

Lee Nak-yeon, Chair of the COVID-19 National Crisis Overcoming Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is delivering opening remarks at the COVID-19 National Crisis Overcoming Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] A bill to expand the review authority of the Korea Communications Standards Commission to prevent media misinformation during disaster situations such as the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has been proposed.

Lee Won-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "I have taken the lead in proposing a partial amendment to the Broadcasting Act to prevent public harm caused by hate discrimination and speculative or exaggerated articles not based on facts related to COVID-19." In addition to Lee, 10 others including Lee In-young, the Democratic Party floor leader, and members Kim Byung-kwan, Park Kyung-mi, Seo Young-kyo, Song Gap-seok, Ahn Ho-young, Lee Kyu-hee, Lee Hak-young, and Hong Ui-rak co-sponsored the bill.

According to Article 33 of the Broadcasting Act, the Korea Communications Standards Commission is required to deliver accurate information regarding social disasters including infectious diseases, and prohibits broadcasting content that may undermine the stability of victims, their families, or viewers, while mandating maximum protection of the human rights of victims and others.

Lee diagnosed, "The regulations prohibiting hate against specific regions or groups and those concerning speculative or exaggerated reporting are ambiguous, rendering the review of COVID-19 related broadcasts by each broadcasting company almost ineffective."

The amendment adds "hate" to the existing review regulations prohibiting discrimination based on race, ethnicity, region, religion, etc., and includes matters related to speculative and exaggerated reporting not based on facts.

Lee said, "In fact, reviewing or regulating the media by law is a very cautious and difficult matter. However, this bill is proposed to sound an alarm against broadcasting companies leading in exaggerated and speculative reporting and to enable them to autonomously establish strict reporting guidelines."

He continued, "Regarding COVID-19 as well, there are reporting guidelines created by the Korea Journalists Association. Adhering to such guidelines voluntarily is the proper role of a responsible journalist."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.