[Exclusive] Presidential Advisory Agency Service Report "Legal Regulation of Fake News Causes Greater Loss"

Requested by the Policy Planning Committee, written by the Korean Political Science Association
"Hasty and Excessive Regulations May Restrict Freedom of Expression"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] As the ruling party has pledged to pass media reform bills in the February National Assembly session by submitting multiple proposals, a research report from a presidential advisory body has drawn attention by warning that legal regulations on 'fake news' could potentially lead to social losses.

The Korean Political Science Association submitted the final report of a policy research project titled “Development Plans for Online Political Participation in the Post-COVID Era” to the Presidential Policy Planning Committee at the end of last year.

In this report, the research team stated, "The spread of fake news can cause widespread distrust among citizens toward the political process itself, so special caution is necessary," but also expressed concern that "on the other hand, hasty and excessive regulation of fake news could suppress freedom of expression." The Policy Planning Committee is a presidential advisory body responsible for establishing policy directions and planning current issues. The research involved Associate Professor Baek Woo-yeol of Yonsei University and four other co-researchers. These are the researchers’ opinions and do not represent the official stance of the Policy Planning Committee.

The researchers believed that if legal regulations are introduced in a situation where it is difficult to clearly identify fake news, the side effects could be greater. They emphasized, "It is necessary to clarify that the core values of a mature democratic society lie in the free flow of ideas and the guarantee of freedom of expression," and pointed out, "The social losses caused by hasty overregulation in an information environment where fake news is not clearly distinguishable cannot be considered smaller than the benefits expected from legally regulating it."

They also proposed an alternative, stating, "Rather than hastily defining and regulating fake news distributed via the internet, efforts should be made to create an information environment where citizens can judge the facts themselves by allowing various information-providing sites such as ‘fact-checking’ services to coexist."

Concerns were also raised about the potential hindrance to diversity of public opinion. The researchers noted, "As a way to enhance deliberation beyond factional conflicts and polarization in online public forums, it is necessary to avoid moralistic approaches as much as possible and provide diverse viewpoints and sufficient information so that actors can analyze and evaluate issues from multiple perspectives," adding, "Instead of forcing consensus, an environment should be created where opponents acknowledge each other and differences can coexist."

In this regard, Kim Jong-min, senior supreme council member of the Democratic Party, appeared on TBS Radio’s 'Kim Eo-jun’s News Factory' on the 8th and said, "There are some disagreements regarding punitive damages in the Media Arbitration Act, and we are currently coordinating them," adding, "Since it will take some time to reconcile these differences, it will be difficult to pass it as a priority bill in the February extraordinary session."

Earlier, on the 3rd, Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party, expressed legislative intentions for media reform in the February extraordinary session, stating, "Malicious reports and fake news not based on facts are antisocial crimes that spread social confusion and distrust." Among the Democratic Party’s related bills is the introduction of punitive damages up to three times the amount of damages.