Jeong Seong-guk to opposition on 'Forcing EBS Act Amendment': "If common sense doesn't apply, the public won't agree"

Opposing EBS Law Amendment for 8 Hours 18 Minutes
Criticizing the Opposition While Reading Textbook Democracy and Impeachment Justice

The unlimited debate (filibuster) on the four broadcasting laws (Broadcasting and Communications Commission Act, Broadcasting Act, Broadcasting Culture Promotion Act, and Educational Broadcasting Corporation Act amendments), which lasted for 5 nights and 6 days, ended on the 30th with the final speech by Jeong Seong-guk, a member of the People Power Party. Regarding the ruling party, including the Democratic Party, which pushed through the four broadcasting laws, Jeong criticized, "Even if you push with force, if common sense does not prevail, the public will not agree."

Jeong took the floor as the last speaker in the filibuster on the Educational Broadcasting Corporation Act amendment at the National Assembly from around 12:26 AM to 8:44 AM, speaking for 8 hours and 18 minutes.

Jeong, a former president of the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations, opened a 6th-grade elementary school textbook and read the section titled 'Attitudes Practicing Democracy,' pointing out the absence of necessary attitudes for democracy such as concession, compromise, tolerance, and critical thinking. He highlighted that there was no discussion with the ruling People Power Party regarding the Democratic Party’s proposal and processing of the four broadcasting laws.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeong read the textbook content stating, "Concession and compromise mean considering and consulting with each other. When positions conflict, conflicts should be resolved by adjusting each position through concession and compromise. It is an attitude of recognizing and embracing opinions different from one's own. People must understand that opinions can differ and that their own thoughts may be wrong," and criticized, "The attitude of 'We have 192 seats, so you with 108 seats should just shut up' is truly wrong."

In addition to matters related to the four broadcasting laws, Jeong also criticized the impeachment of Lee Jin-sook, the nominee for the Broadcasting and Communications Commission Chairperson, which the Democratic Party is pushing for, based on the textbook definition of impeachment as "something done when laws or the constitution are violated."

After the unlimited debate on the Educational Broadcasting Corporation Act passed 24 hours, at 8:33 AM, Jeong requested an extension from National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, who responded, "Since you are the last debater, I will give you time." When Speaker Woo said, "Let's give a round of applause to Jeong, who has had a good debate all night," applause came not only from the People Power Party but also from opposition parties.

Meanwhile, before Jeong, Kim Yong-tae of the People Power Party also conducted a filibuster for a record 13 hours and 12 minutes the previous day, appealing, "Under the pretext of creating a fair media environment, the Democratic Party is blatantly attempting to seize control of the media," and asking, "Please help ensure that EBS, which conveys the value and hope of education, does not get caught up in political struggles."

He continued, "Looking at the programming schedule consisting of Dingdongdaeng Kindergarten, Porong Porong Pororo, PengTV, and Knowledge Channel e, it can be confirmed that EBS is an educational specialized broadcaster, unlike KBS and MBC," emphasizing the public broadcasting value of EBS.

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