Media Arbitration Act Passes Agenda Coordination Committee... Ruling Party Unilaterally Approves

On the 17th, a full meeting of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee is being held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] The "Act on the Mediation and Relief of Damage in the Press" (Press Mediation Act) passed the agenda adjustment committee of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee amid the opposition party's absence.

On the 18th, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly processed the amendment to the Press Mediation Act at the agenda adjustment committee. Among the six members of the agenda adjustment committee, three members from the Democratic Party of Korea and Kim Eui-gyeom from the Open Democratic Party voted in favor.

The People Power Party pointed out serious problems with the composition of the agenda adjustment committee but chose to abstain from the meeting after their concerns were not accepted. According to the National Assembly Act, the agenda adjustment committee can operate for up to 90 days with six members equally divided between the ruling and opposition parties when more than one-third of the standing committee requests it. The issue was whether Kim Eui-gyeom from the Open Democratic Party could be counted as part of the opposition quota. The opposition argued that since the Open Democratic Party is grouped with the ruling coalition, it should be counted as part of the ruling party quota. However, with Kim Eui-gyeom assigned to the opposition quota, the agenda adjustment committee was effectively composed of four ruling party members and two opposition members.

The agenda adjustment committee proceeds by selecting the standing committee chair through consultations between the ruling and opposition party secretaries. The chair of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee is Do Jong-hwan from the Democratic Party. Initially, the People Power Party submitted a list including Lee Dal-gon, Choi Hyung-doo, and Kim Seung-soo.

On the same day, Representative Choi posted on Facebook, "They are forcibly pushing through a gag law on the press unprecedented in civilized countries, ignoring the National Assembly procedures, the principle of careful deliberation, and the agenda adjustment committee," and added, "Just like the forced passage of the three lease laws last year, ignoring the opposition's objections and the agenda adjustment committee, the forced amendment of the Press Mediation Act will lead to a regression of democracy in the Republic of Korea."

The amendment bill is scheduled to be submitted and approved at the full meeting of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on the 19th. It is expected to be submitted and processed at the plenary session on the 25th after passing through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Considering the five-day deliberation period after submission to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the bill must pass the standing committee by at least the 19th for plenary session processing to be possible.

The amendment to the Press Mediation Act mainly includes provisions allowing claims for punitive damages up to five times for false or fabricated reports caused by intentional or gross negligence.

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