"Power Struggle Between Ruling and Opposition Over the 'Media Arbitration Act'... 'Reform' VS 'Concerns'"

Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] A political battle has begun over the "Amendment to the Act on Media Arbitration and Relief of Damages," which proposes placing the Media Arbitration Committee under a government ministry and introducing punitive damages for media outlets that publish false or distorted reports. It is expected that a power struggle will unfold between the ruling party advocating for so-called "media reform" and the opposition party opposing it.

On the morning of the 19th, the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act, sponsored by Choi Kang-wook of the Open Democratic Party, was submitted at the full meeting of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.

On that day, Representative Choi stated, "The Constitution guarantees freedom of the press while also specifying the right of victims of rights violations to claim damages. However, due to the courts' passive judgments, the awarded damages rarely exceed 5 million won, failing to provide concrete incentives for the media to report fairly. The rights of victims of media reports have been insufficiently protected. With this awareness, we have prepared measures to strengthen the public responsibility of the media."

The amendment proposed by Representative Choi includes changing the current Media Arbitration Committee to a "Media Committee" under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, allowing the Media Committee to determine violations and impose corrective orders or enforcement fines.

In response, Bae Hyun-jin of the People Power Party pointed out, "The Media Arbitration Committee not only protects citizens harmed by incorrect reports but also plays a role in safeguarding press freedom. There are concerns if the Media Arbitration Committee becomes a government agency under a ministry."

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee also explained, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism prioritizes press freedom as a fundamental principle. We hold the opinion that placing the Media Arbitration Committee under the ministry as a government agency is difficult to accept."

Another controversial aspect of the amendment is the introduction of "punitive damages." The amount of damages would be calculated by multiplying the total number of days from the date of the problematic report to the date it was deleted by the media outlet's average daily sales. For example, assuming a media outlet's average daily sales are 100 million won and the problematic report was deleted after three days, the damages would amount to over 300 million won.

The ruling party plans to proceed with the Media Arbitration Act, advocating media reform. On the 16th, newly elected Democratic Party floor leader and emergency committee chairman Yoon Ho-jung emphasized at his first public meeting, "We will also push forward with prosecutorial reform and media reform, which the public desires."

The opposition party insists that, given the importance of the issue, a public hearing including experts and journalists must be held. Lee Dal-gon, the opposition party's secretary of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the People Power Party, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy, "Since this is a very important law, I believe a public hearing is absolutely necessary. We are prepared to confront the ruling party." At the committee's full meeting, Representative Lee stated, "The amendment to the Media Arbitration Act touches on the core of democracy, which is press freedom, so it is a matter that must be viewed from multiple perspectives. Several public hearings are needed to gather opinions from the entire public and media organizations."

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