Despite Justice Party Opposition... Ruling Party to "Process Media Arbitration Act Amendment This Month"

The Democratic Party aims to pass the bill in the National Assembly on the 25th with "no schedule changes"
Kim Gi-hyeon, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, says "Trusting the power of 180 seats, they recklessly push it through"

Following the People’s Party, the Justice Party, a ruling coalition party, also expressed opposition, but the ruling party clearly stated its intention to pass the controversial Media Arbitration Act amendment within this month. For now, they have set the goal of passing it at the National Assembly plenary session on the 25th.

Do Jong-hwan, Chairman of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, is presiding over the full committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 10th. At this full committee meeting, the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act, which focuses on applying punitive damages for false and fabricated reports, will be reviewed. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Park Jung, the ruling party’s floor whip on the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, reaffirmed this position in a phone interview with this paper on the 11th, emphasizing, "From the media perspective alone, the amendment may not be easy. However, from the standpoint of damage relief, it is not an unreasonable law." He added, "We aim to hold the committee meeting again tomorrow (the 12th), and I plan to contact the Culture Committee members to propose adjustments," and stated, "Our position to handle it within this month remains unchanged." Kim Seung-won, a ruling party member of the Culture Committee, also said in a phone interview, "The opposition party has agreed to submit amendments and opinions, and we will discuss them again afterward," adding, "We are aiming for passage at the plenary session on the 25th."

At the Democratic Party’s Supreme Council meeting that day, voices were raised that the Justice Party, which opposed the Media Arbitration Act, should be persuaded. Democratic Party spokesperson Lee Yong-bin told reporters after the meeting, "We discussed the need to seek understanding from Justice Party lawmakers politically." However, he also said, "There will be no change to the schedule for the Media Arbitration Act."

Meanwhile, the opposition parties, which view the Media Arbitration Act amendment as ‘media suppression,’ continued their criticism that day. Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, appeared on BBS Radio and said, "Even the Justice Party says this is going too far. During the Yushin regime, there was no such media control function," criticizing, "They are recklessly pushing it through, relying on their 180-seat majority." On the same day, the Citizens’ Coalition for Democratic Media and the Korean Society for Journalism and Communication Studies held an emergency forum to seek ways to improve the Media Arbitration Act.

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