Ruling Party-Led Media Reform Gains Momentum Following ABC Association Expulsion

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] With the successful expulsion of the ABC Association, media reform driven by the ruling party is expected to gain further momentum. The Democratic Party of Korea intends to pass media reform-related bills, including the punitive damages system, in the July National Assembly session, but fierce opposition from the opposition party is expected to cause difficulties.

Kim Jong-min, a member of the Democratic Party’s Media Special Committee, explained the necessity of introducing punitive damages in an interview with MBC Radio’s ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus’ on the 9th, saying, "The current internet environment is a new system where fake news and false manipulated information spread nationwide simultaneously," and "The checking function is lost, and within 30 to 40 minutes, fake news spreads nationwide without verification of accuracy."

Kim Eui-gyeom, a member of the Open Democratic Party who raised issues about the ABC Association’s circulation manipulation, also stated in an interview with TBS Radio’s ‘Kim Eo-jun’s News Factory’ on the same day, "(When) quantitatively evaluated, JoongAng Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo, and Dong-A Ilbo always rank high," and "I proposed combining quantitative and qualitative evaluations as criteria for government advertising execution and have submitted related bills."

The Media Special Committee’s main goals are ▲removal of portal news editing rights ▲non-intervention of the ruling party in recommending public broadcasting directors ▲introduction of punitive damages. The Democratic Party unilaterally submitted a revision bill to the Media Arbitration Act to the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee’s bill subcommittee on the 6th, which includes punitive damages compensating 3 to 5 times the damage amount, the right to request article deletion, and front-page publication of corrections. Separately, the ‘Media Voucher’ bill, allowing citizens to decide advertising amounts by media outlet, was proposed by Representative Kim Seung-won and is being promoted independently.

While the ruling party is accelerating media reform, there are also many voices of concern. Choi Hyung-doo, a member of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the People Power Party, said on MBC Radio’s ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus’ on the same day regarding the punitive damages system promoted by the ruling party, "Punishing one issue through both civil and criminal means is unconstitutional," and "As the claim amount increases, litigation costs also rise. Ultimately, it could be abused by those in power who can mobilize unlimited funds to stop follow-up reports about themselves," he argued. The day before, Jeon Ju-hye, the People Power Party’s floor spokesperson, also criticized it as "a law to control the media and gag the press."

Overcoming opposition from the media industry is also a challenge. The Korean Newspaper Editors Association stated the day before, "It is natural for the media to take responsibility for reported articles, but the punitive damages system is a suitable measure to correct situations where many weak parties are harmed by socially powerful ones, and the clause for five times the damage amount and front-page publication of corrections violates the constitutional principle of prohibition of excess," they pointed out.

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