Justice Party "Media Arbitration Act Amendment Bill Must Be Fully Reconsidered... Sufficient Deliberation Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The Justice Party has proposed a full reconsideration of the amendment to the "Act on the Mediation and Relief of Damage in the Press" (Press Mediation Act).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 17th, Bae Jin-kyo, the floor leader of the Justice Party, held a press conference in front of the National Assembly main building and stated, "If the Democratic Party truly wishes for better democracy and for the press to return to its original role, it must immediately fully reconsider the amendment to the Press Mediation Act," adding, "We strongly urge the establishment of a special committee on media reform to promote reform through thorough deliberation."

Floor leader Bae said, "The issue of the media sometimes degenerating into a commercial tool for their own profit rather than public interest, engaging in fake news, biased, and sensational reporting clearly proves that the media itself is also a subject of reform," and emphasized, "It cannot be overstated that victims of such reporting must be protected." However, he pointed out, "The Press Mediation Act led by the ruling party cannot be the solution."

He explained, "Because it contains toxic provisions that allow the government to manipulate the media at will, and rather could restrict freedom of the press."

He continued, "Especially, vague expressions such as the requirement for punitive damages being 'reports made with malice' are no different from pre-censoring reports to control the media," he criticized.

Floor leader Bae said, "The Democratic Party, which has even faced criticism for 'gagging the press,' belatedly submitted a revised bill. Although there has been some progress, it does not completely resolve the concerns," and criticized, "Limiting the claim targets to current high-ranking public officials and elected officials or including only large corporations has many loopholes." He further explained, "The scope should be expanded to include former high-ranking public officials, elected officials after their retirement, and companies large enough to file strategic lawsuits against public participation."

Nevertheless, floor leader Bae evaluated, "The definitions of fake news, requests for blocking access, and the presumption of intentional or gross negligence are still full of ambiguities."

He said, "The Justice Party has already pointed out the ambiguities in the six criteria for presuming intentional or gross negligence. However, the Democratic Party has still not submitted a revised bill on this," adding, "They are misleading the Justice Party’s voice to block a law that could easily lead to media control as if it were opposing a law to protect victims of fake news. This is deplorable."

He questioned, "What is so urgent that this is being rushed through so hastily?" and criticized, "At this point ahead of the presidential election, no citizen is unaware of this shallow scheme. There is no sign of any consideration for reforms repeatedly demanded by media unions and organizations, such as reforming the governance structure of public broadcasting, amending the Newspaper Act to secure editorial independence, or the Regional Newspaper Support Act."

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Democratic Party reiterated its determination to pass the amendment to the Press Mediation Act during a floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly in the morning. Shin Hyun-young, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, told reporters after the meeting, "We will try to quickly pass the bill through reflecting various opinions from media organizations as much as possible and through bipartisan agreement."

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