[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters (Jeju) Reporter Park Chang-won] Jeju Special Self-Governing Province is actively promoting the establishment of the Jeju Media Promotion Foundation (tentative name) to expand the public nature of local media.
On the 1st, Jeju Province announced that it submitted the transfer of authority over advertising requests from public institutions within the province and the selection of promotional media to Jeju Province, which is under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as a new task for the 8th phase of institutional improvement.
According to the enactment and enforcement of the Act on Advertising by Government Agencies and Public Corporations, all paid advertising acts for promotional purposes by the government, local governments, and local public corporations must currently be requested through the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Accordingly, the Korea Press Foundation, which is entrusted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, charges an additional 10% service fee as an agency fee from each local government and local public corporation on top of the advertising costs for public institution advertisements.
However, some evaluations suggest that the Korea Press Foundation's ability to handle advertising agency work for media outlets in the Jeju region is practically minimal.
In particular, designating the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, rather than the city or province as the legally authorized agency under the Act on Promotion of Newspapers, as the advertising requesting agency causes legal inconsistencies between the Newspaper Act and the Government Advertising Act. Furthermore, imposing a 10% advertising agency fee on local governments and local public institutions under the Enforcement Decree of the Government Advertising Act results in a reduction of advertising costs by the amount of the fee, thereby damaging the management of local media.
Ko Kyung-ho, the provincial public relations officer, explained the necessity of transferring authority for the establishment of the Jeju Media Promotion Foundation, stating, “Although public institutions in the province pay advertising fees to the Korea Press Foundation, the portion of these fees returned to the Jeju region is minimal, which is a criticism from local media.”
He added, “The authority over advertising requests and promotional media selection for public institutions within Jeju Province, currently under the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, urgently needs to be transferred. This will reflect Jeju’s unique characteristics and, above all, provide a stable and sustainable funding and support plan to expand the public nature of local media.”
Jeju Province has also submitted a new task to the Office of Special Self-Governing Law Affairs, emphasizing the need to guarantee diversity by allowing public institutions to select advertising agency organizations suitable for local conditions in addition to the Korea Press Foundation.
The Jeju Media Promotion Foundation aims to expand support for local media through voluntary fee reductions, and the revenue will be used to establish a foundation for expanding local media support and creating a media environment that enhances the efficiency of advertising agency services for public institutions.
Jeju Province had set a deadline of October 23 to submit new tasks to proactively prepare for changes in life due to COVID-19, tasks that were not included in the 7th phase of institutional improvement, and matters requiring re-promotion among existing tasks.
After discovering new tasks by each department, the plan is to begin work for the 8th phase of institutional improvement through an expert working group.
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