Park Yong-jin expresses concern that the ruling party's 'Media Arbitration Act' may become a boomerang for reform

Park Yong-jin, a presidential candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at a press conference held at the Democratic Party of Korea Incheon City Party Office in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, on the morning of the 19th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] Park Yongjin, a presidential candidate from the Democratic Party, expressed concerns that the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act, which was passed solely by the Democratic Party in the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (CSTC), might "become a boomerang to reform."

On the 19th, on KBS Radio's 'Open Debate,' Park raised this issue, saying, "If there are people who support this law simply because they dislike so-called conservative media, they need to reconsider."

He said, "If the so-called wealthy, powerful, and well-connected people say, 'Hankyoreh, Kyunghyang, OhmyNews? Great, we caught them,' and file lawsuits under this law, reporters, editors, and companies will all feel burdened," adding, "I worry about what will happen if the media's watchdog, check, and criticism functions do not operate properly."

He continued, "We passed the bill with good intentions, but there have been cases where it came back as a boomerang," adding, "The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) that we longed for over 20 years was like that. The first investigation target was Cho Hee-yeon, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent, which caused a meltdown."

Regarding the Democratic Party's plan to push for the passage of the Media Arbitration Act amendment at the National Assembly plenary session on the 25th, he explained, "I fully agree with media reform in terms of strengthening responsibility, but I am concerned about the boomerang effect of such reforms," adding, "If it goes to a party-line vote, it will be difficult because we have to unify our actions."

Do Jong-hwan, Chairman of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (center), is mediating between Park Jung, Democratic Party whip (right), and Lee Dal-gon, People Power Party whip, who are disputing over the resolution of the punitive damages amendment to the Media Arbitration Act at the full meeting of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on the 19th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, the CSTC held a plenary meeting in the afternoon and submitted the 'Partial Amendment to the Act on Media Arbitration and Damage Relief' as a committee alternative, which was passed. The amendment passed with 9 votes in favor out of 16 members. The core of the amendment allows for punitive damages up to five times to be claimed for false or manipulated reports by media companies. It also allows for blocking access to articles along with correction reports.

In response, opposition parties such as the People Power Party and the Justice Party, as well as media organizations, strongly opposed it, calling it "media gagging that infringes on freedom of expression," but it was pushed through solely by the ruling party.

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