Korea's contentious 'fake news' bill at crossroads

 

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party, speaks during a rally to protest the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's revision bill to the Act on Press Arbitration, held in front of the National Assembly on Seoul's Yeouido, Wednesday. Yonhap

Ruling party set to pass 'draconian' media reform bill on Monday

By Jung Da-min

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) controversial bill aimed at increasing punitive damages on media outlets producing "fake news" is at a crossroads, as it has been facing strong backlash not just from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) but also from civic groups and journalists of both domestic and international media outlets.

The DPK initially planned to pass the bill at a plenary session of the National Assembly last Wednesday, but the plenary session has been pushed back to Aug. 30 due to a procedural problem. The Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee approved the revision bill to the Act on Press Arbitration early Wednesday morning but a bill can only be introduced in a plenary session at least one day after the judiciary committee's passage of it.

The DPK and the PPP have since agreed to hold the plenary session Monday, but the parties were still running in parallel over the issue. The PPP was planning to attempt a filibuster to block the vote on the bill, but even if the filibuster succeeds, the DPK which holds a majority of National Assembly seats can still pass the bill after it is introduced in the regular Assembly session, scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

Amid escalating criticism on the DPK trying to "silence" critical reporting and suppress press freedom, the DPK is reportedly considering participating in a social consensus body as proposed by five local media organizations, to discuss and reach an agreement over details of the so-called faked news bill.

"We have briefly exchanged opinions over the phone with the media organizations about what topics to discuss at the consensus keonhacai ," a high-ranking DPK official told Yonhap News, Sunday.

Rep. Kim Yong-min, head of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's taskforce of media reform, speaks during a press conference for foreign journalists to explain the party's revision bill to the Act on Press Arbitration, held at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul, last Friday. Yonhap

The official added that the party was still deciding whether it would accept the media organization's proposal to create such a consensus body, although the DPK members believe the scope of the press arbitration act which media organizations want to discuss was "too wide." The party leadership was still considering discussing the matter with the media organizations.

If the DPK decides to participate in the social consensus body on the press arbitration act, the passage of the revision bill is expected to be delayed for a considerable period of time.

The DPK members are divided over the issue, with some saying the bill should be passed at the Aug. 30 plenary session, while others call for more social discussion before bringing the bill to a plenary session so as not to lose public trust in the party.

Adding to controversies over the bill were different stances of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the DPK over the matter of applying the punitive damages to foreign media here.

While the ministry believes that foreign media are not subject to the fake news bill, Rep. Kim Yong-min, head of the DPK's taskforce of media reform, said in a press conference held to explain the bill to foreign journalists last Friday said he believed foreign media were also subject to the bill.

Rep. Hong jun-pyo, a presidential contender of the main opposition People Power Party, speaks during his one-person demonstration in front of Cheong Wa Dae, Sunday, over the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's railroading its revision bill on the Act on Press Arbitration. Joint Press Corps

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, floor leader of the PPP, said at a press conference on the matter that it would be unfair to domestic media outlets if the bill only targets them according to the ministry's interpretation of the bill.

"It seems that the ruling bloc was afraid of criticism from global society, and that's why the ministry said foreign media are not subject to the bill, but applying the bill only to domestic media is also a farce," Kim said.

So far, a number of international media organizations have shown concerns over the DPK's fake news bill, including the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club (SFCC). They said they support local media organizations' protest against the bill, expressing concerns that the bill would undermine freedom of expression.

The PPP floor leader also said his party was ready to stage a filibuster to put a stop to the bill, adding that it has secured enough participants for the political tactic to continue until the end of the month.