Park Beom-gye "Media Needs Social Responsibility... Must Acknowledge the Need to Amend the Arbitration Act"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, stated regarding the passage of the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act through the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, "I think we need to acknowledge the necessity of (remedying) damages caused by fake news."

On the 25th, Minister Park said to reporters on his way to the Government Complex Gwacheon, "Along with freedom of the press, there is also a need for responsibility as a social public instrument."

Regarding concerns that freedom of the press might be significantly restricted, he said, "The law's concrete form is manifested through how it is enforced, interpreted, and applied, and through the process of judicial decisions in disputes. While there may be concerns from the media, I believe such issues can be sufficiently covered by the level of our society."

Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea unilaterally pushed through the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act in the early morning, applying 'punitive damages' to media companies. The amendment allows for claims of punitive damages up to five times the amount if intentional or gross negligence is recognized in false or fabricated reports by media companies, and also permits requests to block article access along with corrections.

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