Final Breakdown of 8-Member Ruling and Opposition Media Law Negotiation Committee... "Ball Back to Party Leadership"

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jong-min (left) is speaking at the 8-member negotiation meeting on the Press Arbitration Act held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 26th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The 8-member consultative body formed by the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party to discuss amendments to the "Act on the Mediation and Relief of Damage in the Press (Press Mediation Act)" concluded without reaching a consensus on key issues. The final vote on the Press Mediation Act in the plenary session has been referred back to National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok and the leadership of both parties.

On the 26th, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jong-min and People Power Party lawmaker Choi Hyung-doo held the 11th and final meeting at the National Assembly and stated, "We were unable to narrow differences regarding the punitive damages system and the introduction of the right to request blocking of access."

Both sides agreed that "to provide prompt and effective relief for damages, correction reports and rebuttal reports should be activated," and "we decided to recommend the contents of the discussions on specific methods to the floor leaders of both parties."

However, there was some agreement on methods related to correction reports, such as introducing services that allow rebuttal requests at the level of internet news services. But on major issues like the punitive damages system and the introduction of the right to request blocking of access, the gap could not be bridged.

Kim Ki-hyun of the People Power Party floor leadership said at a separate press briefing, "The People Power Party's position has been clear from the beginning: the clause presuming intentional or gross negligence must obviously be deleted, the introduction of the punitive damages system itself is unacceptable, and the right to request blocking of access essentially blocks newsgathering, thus infringing on the public's right to know, so this part must also be removed."

Floor leader Kim added, "We are open to strengthening the right to raise rebuttals and introducing a system that can sufficiently consider the determination of compensation amounts."

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