Ongoing Tug-of-War Between Ruling and Opposition Parties Over Press Arbitration Act... Plenary Session Postponed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Jeon Jinyoung and Park Juni] The ruling and opposition parties have yet to narrow their differences over the passage of the amended Media Arbitration Act. The plenary session scheduled for 5 p.m. on the 30th was postponed due to a failure to reach an agreement between the floor leaders of both parties.

Yoon Hojung, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, told reporters after a meeting with Kim Gi-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, chaired by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok in the afternoon, “We still have not reached a consensus between the ruling and opposition parties.” Yoon said, “The Democratic Party requested Speaker Park to convene the plenary session and pass 20 bills including the Media Arbitration Act,” adding, “The opposition party maintains its position that it cannot accept the bill unless major provisions of the Media Arbitration Act are withdrawn.” Without any conclusion, the floor leaders confirmed only their differences and resumed discussions from 5:10 p.m. As the floor leaders entered into renegotiations, the plenary session scheduled for 5 p.m. was also postponed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The People Power Party is strongly opposing the move. On the same day, Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, said at an emergency briefing that if the Democratic Party forcibly passes the Media Arbitration Act, he would cancel the TV debate scheduled for the evening with Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil. Lee criticized, “The prerequisite for a debate to take place is when there is certainty that the Democratic Party is forcibly pushing legislation through unreasonable means,” adding, “If one side is preparing to forcibly pass legislation while claiming to engage in dialogue, that is not a sincere attitude.” He raised his voice, saying, “If the bill is forcibly passed recklessly, the debate will be canceled, and the full responsibility will lie with President Moon Jae-in and the Democratic Party.”

At the Democratic Party’s parliamentary meeting held that day, the majority voiced the need to pass the Media Arbitration Act, although there were also calls for caution. Representative Heo Jong-sik, who expressed concerns, wrote on Facebook, “In a situation where public distrust of the media is severe, the media has neither reflected on nor apologized for fake news. In this context, a law to remedy damages caused by fake news is naturally necessary,” but added, “I think it is necessary to spend about one to three months persuading the media industry and allowing time for bipartisan consultation.”

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