DPK promotes media freedom as it pushes 'fake news' bill

 

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Rep. Song Young-gil speaks during the party's seminar at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Cheong Wa Dae have been promoting Korea's ranking on media freedom, engendering criticism from the opposition bloc. The DPK made such claims during a seminar at the National Assembly on Thursday, which was held in preparation for the upcoming regular session that starts Sept. 1.

In fact sheets distributed for lawmakers participating in the seminar, the party claimed Korea is an advanced country in terms of media freedom, citing the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

"According to 2020 Press Freedom Index, Korea ranked as No. 42 in the world, and No. 1 in Asia for the third consecutive year," the document reads. "Also, a number of influential overseas news outlets are moving their Asia office to Korea, showing that Korea is a central place for media in Asia."

The claim came amid the DPK's recent move to revise a media law allowing punitive damages for news outlets or keonhacai that produce false or fabricated reports.

The revision, described as the "fake news law," is set to go to a vote at a plenary session on Monday, despite opposition and concerns on media freedom from domestic and international journalist groups, including RSF.

Regarding RSF's criticism on the fake news law, DPK Chairman Rep. Song Young-gil created controversy by calling the very same organization it had quoted in the report "know nothings" about Korean media and that it "quotes everything that Korean news outlets report." The RSF has sought to refute Song's statements, and in response, Song said he will "explain well" the grounds on which the DPK is seeking the revision.

Members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea salute to the national flag during a seminar at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

During the seminar, Lee Ho-seung, presidential chief of staff for policy, attended and praised the government's policies to stabilize the real estate market, by comparing the rate of Korea's home price increase with that of the average of OECD countries.

"The average of OECD member countries' home price increase rate stood at 7.7 percent, while that of Korea was 5.4 percent," Lee said, without citing the period. "Even though we are trying to explain this, the public does not easily accept the situation."

The data Lee cited is assumed to be a report by the state-run Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, which was based on OECD statistics collected from each country. According to it, Korea's nominal home price increased by 5.4 percent from 2019 to 2020, which was No. 22 out of 43 member countries.

However, questions have been raised over the report because the OECD tracked an index based on home prices registered to a government-run real estate market tracker, Korea Real Estate Board, not based on the prices of real transactions. Also, the report only showcases the average home price hike across the country, not the sharp increase in Seoul and surrounding Gyeonggi Province.

And according to Korea Real Estate Board, Seoul's home price hike rate increased 0.22 percent in the fourth week of August this week from a week ago, setting a new record high in 153 weeks.

Due to this, real estate policies are widely viewed as one of the most crucial factors lowering President Moon Jae-in's support rate. However, the administration does not admit its failure, continuing its policies of suppressing demands through tighter loan standards.

Rep. Her Euna, a spokesperson of the main opposition People Power Party, said in a written commentary that "the seminar was full of self-flattery and deceived the public."

"Just a few days ago, the DPK passed by force the fake news bill at the Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee upon the opposition party's boycott, and its chairman defamed RSF by saying 'they know nothing,'" she wrote. "And then the DPK displayed further nonsense by citing RSF data as their achievement. … The DPK should have proper recognition of the public's suffering."