Democratic Party Lawmakers in the Science and ICT Committee: "People Power Party, Resign If You Don't Want to Work"

Joint Statement Released by 11 Assembly Members

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] “The opposition party is focusing all its efforts on political issues and broadcasting control by holding hostage the bill review that numerous ICT and broadcasting stakeholders are waiting for.” As the Information and Communication Broadcasting Bill Review Subcommittee (Bill Subcommittee 2) of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee, which discusses domestic ICT bills, has once again broken down, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea publicly criticized the People Power Party.

Eleven members of the Democratic Party’s Science and Broadcasting Committee issued a joint statement on the 22nd, pointing out, “Seven out of the eleven members of the Bill Subcommittee 2, excluding the four members from the People Power Party, submitted a request to convene a meeting and review the bills, but the People Power Party’s Science and Broadcasting Committee ultimately did not respond.”

The lawmakers said, “At the very least, the urgent ‘Data Basic Act’ and ‘In-App Payment Mandatory Prohibition Act’ should be immediately handled by convening Bill Subcommittee 2,” emphasizing, “Domestic companies are eagerly awaiting the swift passage of the Data Basic Act to establish at least the minimum foundation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and content developers and startup stakeholders are appealing to stop Google’s unilateral policy changes, but the People Power Party keeps parroting irrelevant demands for a TBS Board of Audit and Inspection investigation.”

The People Power Party has also acknowledged the importance of the data economy. On the 17th, Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, announced a policy to foster the fields of data, networks, and artificial intelligence (AI), called the ‘DNA’ of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, during the negotiation group leaders’ speech. The Democratic Party members stated, “Not only the Democratic Party but also multiple People Power Party lawmakers have proposed data-related bills, which were integrated and compromised to create a single ‘Data Basic Act.’ Only minor adjustments to some clauses remain,” arguing for the necessity of enacting the Data Basic Act.

It is also urgent to pass the amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act to block Google’s mandatory in-app payment enforcement scheduled to take effect on October 1. Domestic digital content providers face infringements on their choice of various payment methods, worsening profitability, and concerns over management deterioration for small and micro businesses. There is also concern that Google unilaterally imposes a 30% payment fee on sales without reasonable calculation grounds, causing mobile content usage fees to rise. However, Google charges 15% for businesses with sales under 1.1 billion KRW. It is also pointed out that the final user burden may increase.

Democratic Party lawmakers said, “During last year’s national audit period, a compromise was reached through bipartisan consultation, but the People Power Party has delayed the review for incomprehensible reasons,” criticizing, “Although in-depth bill reviews such as public hearings and consultations with related agencies have been conducted, the People Power Party is still procrastinating on this bill.”

The Democratic Party also maintained an opposing stance on the People Power Party’s request for a Board of Audit and Inspection investigation into TBS. The Democratic Party side said, “What relevance is there between the Science and Broadcasting Committee’s bill review and the TBS Board of Audit and Inspection investigation request?” and pointed out, “The Bill Review Subcommittee was separately formed to efficiently review bills, not to be used as leverage to demand baseless and pointless things like the TBS Board of Audit and Inspection investigation request.”

They particularly criticized Park Sung-joong, a People Power Party member and co-chair of Bill Subcommittee 2, for dereliction of duty. Democratic Party lawmakers said, “The current situation where the opposition party’s secretary is refusing to review bills simply because the chairman of Bill Subcommittee 2 is from the opposition party is exactly the first opposition party of the Republic of Korea’s obstruction and tantrum,” and pointed out, “The opposition party is holding hostage the bill review that numerous ICT and broadcasting stakeholders are waiting for, focusing only on broadcasting control and political issues.”

They added, “Legislation is the essential role and responsibility of the National Assembly,” and said, “If the subcommittee chairman who is obstructing the bill review does not want to work, we hope he resigns immediately. Otherwise, we urge him to convene the subcommittee now and show sincerity in resolving the pressing issues in information, communication, and broadcasting.”