Justice Party and 4 Media Organizations: "Ruling Party Must Stop 'Media Arbitration Act Unilateral Push'"

Urgent Call to Halt the Forced Passage of the 'Media Arbitration Act' on the 24th

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 24th, the Justice Party urged the ruling party to immediately withdraw the amended Media Arbitration Act, which was unilaterally passed in the National Assembly's standing committee.

On this day, the Justice Party held a press conference in front of the main building stairs of the National Assembly together with four media professional organizations: the Broadcast Journalists Association, the National Union of Mediaworkers, the Korea Journalists Association, and the Korea PD Association. They stated, "Do not mislead the Media Arbitration Act, which silences the media, as media reform."

Bae Jin-kyo, the floor leader of the Justice Party, criticized, "Even within the Democratic Party, concerns about side effects are pouring out, yet are you determined to push through the plenary session? Seeing that only the leading candidates maintain their support, it is clear who this law is for."

Photo by Justice Party

He added, "Back in 2009, during the 18th National Assembly, when the then ruling party, the Grand National Party, pushed through amendments to the media law concerning newspaper and broadcasting cross-ownership, the opposition Democratic Party demanded 'guarantees for fairness and neutrality in broadcasting,' didn't they? They insisted that the media law should precede with a social discussion body and a national consensus process. Now, explain convincingly why the Media Arbitration Act can be hastily pushed through by the ruling party's authority."

He emphasized, "The Justice Party will do its utmost until the end to block this media regression law for the sake of press freedom and democracy."

Following this, the Justice Party, together with the four media professional organizations, released a joint press statement pointing out, "Now that numerous civic groups have expressed their positions and a public discourse is finally forming, the Democratic Party's rush to pass the law in August raises the question again: for whom is this media reform really intended?"

They criticized, "The forced passage of the amended Media Arbitration Act has become a black hole that absorbs all media reform agendas. Improvements in public broadcasting governance with citizen participation, amendments to the Newspaper Act to prevent partisan reporting and the arbitrary control of owners, and support systems for local media to monitor regional power have all vanished." They also stated, "It has provided an excuse for forces that have been obstacles in the history of democracy to disguise themselves as 'fighters for press freedom.'" They explained that the People Power Party, which has obstructed discussions to create citizen-participatory public broadcasting, conservative media and employer groups opposing the independence of editorial committees to protect media owners' freedom, have no right to talk about media reform.

They stressed, "We did not enter this fight to protect vested interests. The press freedom we seek to protect is the freedom of journalists who silently upheld journalistic principles despite criticism as 'giregi' (trash journalists) and media hatred, and of media professionals who did not yield to regime changes or capital threats. Through this, it is the universal rights of citizens that are protected."

They also said, "If the Democratic Party has even a slight genuine will for media reform, withdraw the bill immediately at today's Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting. We repeatedly urge the Democratic Party to immediately start a social consensus process to strengthen genuine remedies for media users' damages and protect press freedom."