'Free Ride Prevention Act' and Other ICT Bills Neglected... Pushed Aside by 'Geomsu Wanbak'

Disruption in the Science and ICT Committee's Bill Subcommittee on the 20th
Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash Over Incheon and Public Broadcasting Amendment Bills
ICT Issues Delayed... Industry Concerns Persist

The Information and Communications Broadcasting Bill Review Subcommittee (Bill Subcommittee 2) of the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee, which was scheduled to be held on the 20th, has been canceled. The photo shows Dean Garfield, Vice President of Public Policy at Netflix, visiting Korea in November 2021, meeting with Lee Won-wook, Chairman of the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties over prosecutorial reform and personnel hearings reached its peak, discord also arose within the National Assembly's standing committees, which are supposed to handle issues by ministry. ICT issues, including the 'Network Free Riding Prevention Bill' that mandates payment of network usage fees by global big tech companies such as Netflix, were pushed to a lower priority.

A Democratic Party official from the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee said on the 16th, "The Information and Communications Broadcasting Bill Review Subcommittee (Bill Subcommittee 2), which was scheduled to be held on the 20th, was canceled due to a unilateral notice from the People Power Party side," adding, "Subsequently, the schedule for personnel hearings was also fully suspended."

At the 2nd subcommittee, a bill mandating network usage fees in response to the issue of free riding on domestic networks by big tech companies such as Netflix was to be submitted. Currently, there are a total of seven Netflix-related bills pending in the National Assembly. The Korea Telecommunications Business Association, representing domestic telecommunications companies, also conveyed to the Presidential Transition Committee the position that the mandatory payment of internet network usage fees by global content providers (CPs) should be pursued.

On the 14th, a meeting of the Special Committee on Media System Improvement was held at the National Assembly without the participation of the People Power Party members. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The ruling and opposition parties have failed to narrow their differences on sensitive political issues such as the complete removal of prosecutorial investigation rights (known as Geomsu Wanbak) and personnel hearings. On the 12th, Democratic Party lawmakers held a policy meeting and decided to adopt the Geomsu Wanbak bill as party policy for passage within this month, and on the 15th, all 172 lawmakers jointly submitted the related bill to the National Assembly. The People Power Party responded by urging President Moon to exercise his veto power against the Prosecutors' Office Act amendment bill that the Democratic Party is pushing as party policy. On the 14th, the National Assembly's Special Committee on Media System Improvement meeting was held without People Power Party lawmakers attending as a form of protest against Geomsu Wanbak.

The Democratic Party's party-adopted bill to improve the governance structure of public broadcasting has also been a point of contention. Kim Young-sik, the People Power Party's floor spokesman on the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee, said at a floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 15th, "The Democratic Party must clearly state what their intention is in trying to hastily pass broadcasting and media-related bills at the end of the president's term," and referred to the bill as the "Left-wing Permanent Broadcasting Takeover Act."

As conflicts within the National Assembly deepen, the industry is expressing concern. There is a perception that if the bills are not discussed during the April extraordinary session, the discussion itself may return to square one. Personnel hearings for ministerial candidates, starting with Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo, are scheduled for the 25th and 26th of this month. Following that, the 21st National Assembly will end, Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee members will be replaced, and the June local elections await.

Netflix is engaged in a legal dispute over network usage fee payments with SK Broadband, an Internet Service Provider (ISP). In April 2020, Netflix filed a lawsuit against SK Broadband seeking confirmation of non-existence of debt, claiming it had no obligation to pay network usage fees, but it was effectively defeated in the first trial and is currently appealing. Last year, Netflix recorded sales of 631.7 billion KRW in Korea alone, a 52.0% increase compared to the previous year. Operating profit doubled from 8.8 billion KRW to 17.1 billion KRW, and net profit also more than doubled from 6.3 billion KRW to 13.3 billion KRW. Dean Garfield, Netflix's Vice President of Public Policy, planned to visit Korea this month to meet with ruling and opposition members of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee, but the meeting was ultimately canceled.

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