The Democratic Party Chose a Strategic Retreat... But the Possibility of Abandoning the Toxic Clause Remains Low

Ceasefire on Media Arbitration Law Between Ruling and Opposition Parties
Agreement to Form Media-Civil Council
Ruling Party Considers Hardliners and Blue House Positions
Opposition Employs Delay Tactics to Block Forced Passage

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon, Lee Hyun-joo, Jeon Jin-young, Park Joon-i] The ruling and opposition parties, unable to reach an agreement on the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act by August 31, the last day of the August extraordinary session, have agreed to form a 'Media Civil-Political Consultative Body,' entering a strategic truce. At first glance, it appears that the ruling party has taken a step back, but considering the hardliners within the party and the Blue House's stance, the ruling party feels the burden and sees this as one of the exit strategies. The opposition seems to be employing a negotiation delay strategy to prevent forced passage. For now, the plan is to resolve the issue through discussions before Chuseok, and attention is focused on how deeply the Media Arbitration Act will be reconsidered during this period.

Yun Ho-jung, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Ki-hyun, the floor leader of the People Power Party, are answering reporters' questions after concluding the meeting of floor leaders presided over by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok at the National Assembly on the 31st. Photo by Yun Dong-ju doso7@

On the 31st, Yoon Ho-jung, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, and Kim Ki-hyun, the floor leader of the People Power Party, met again at 10 a.m. following four marathon meetings the previous day to share their parties' revised proposals. However, they have not been able to narrow the gap on contentious issues such as the punitive damages system and the right to request article blocking. Nevertheless, the People Power Party showed willingness to accept the formation of the consultative body proposed by the Democratic Party the day before, agreeing to have a 'deliberation period,' indicating that both sides have taken a step back for now.

The key contentious issues in the amendment are the punitive damages system of up to five times for false reporting, which was considered a toxic clause, the requirement of intentional gross negligence presumed for false or manipulated reports, and the right to request article blocking. The ruling party proposed a revised bill the previous day that deleted the clause presuming intentional gross negligence, but the People Power Party maintained its stance that it would not accept the bill unless the punitive damages clause and the right to request article blocking were removed. Media organizations and others are also strongly opposing the toxic clauses.

However, the Democratic Party still insists that the two clauses cannot be amended. Representative Jeon Yong-gi said in a phone interview that "What do you intend to pass if you delete these two clauses?" and Representative Hong Jung-min also stated, "It will be difficult to agree to delete the punitive damages clause."

Ultimately, the revised bill accepted by both sides is expected to be concluded with the formation of the consultative body. A People Power Party official said, "We are not negative about the consultative body itself," and evaluated, "The significance lies in delaying the processing of the toxic media clauses." However, the official added that the consultative body should be composed not only of Democratic Party members but also opposition lawmakers, scholars, and media organizations, and that this task may not be simple.

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