Democratic Party Endorses 'Media Reform' as Party Policy... Media Arbitration Act Decision Delegated to Party Leadership

Adoption of Party Resolution on Information and Communications Network Act and Public Broadcasting Governance Improvement Bill

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Park Jun-i] On the 12th, the Democratic Party of Korea adopted media reform bills, including amendments to the Information and Communications Network Act and improvements to the governance structure of public broadcasting, as party policy alongside the prosecution reform bills. The party leadership plans to decide on the direction and deadline for handling the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act, which is currently pending in the National Assembly plenary session.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 12th, Oh Young-hwan, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, told reporters after a party caucus meeting, "Since it has been decided as our party policy, regarding the existing Media Arbitration Act pending in the plenary session and the part concerning remedies for damages caused by fake news, we will review it further and delegate the decision to the party leadership."

Except for this, the bills related to the Information and Communications Network Act and improvements to the governance structure of public broadcasting were adopted as party policy.

Spokesperson Oh said, "The amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act, which regulates false and manipulated information and strengthens the right to rebuttal, was adopted as party policy. This includes punishment for false and manipulated information and the right to request deletion for excessive infringement of rights occurring in the distribution of information or one-person media not resolved by the existing Media Arbitration Act, the right to rebuttal for rights infringements caused by unfair information, and the establishment of an online dispute mediation committee that imposes fines if the right to rebuttal is not fulfilled."

Regarding the same law aimed at restricting portal sites’ self-editing and article recommendations, it was made possible to limit articles being recommended or arranged based on algorithms or internal criteria, and to provide articles only when readers search for keywords.

Consensus was also reached as party policy on improving the governance structure of public broadcasting.

Spokesperson Oh said, "There are existing proposals related to the National Recommendation Committee, including a modified German model and a Public Broadcasting Operating Committee proposal. The committee will be composed of about 25 members, mainly focusing on expertise in the media field and representation from various sectors of society, while minimizing political recommendations."

He added, "Regarding the president, the party policy was decided to appoint through a special supermajority of the operating committee, requiring at least three-fifths approval."

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