President Moon "Thorough Review Needed"... Ruling Party Faces Growing Political Burden Over Media Arbitration Act

Ruling Party Expresses Intent to Pass Bill in Plenary Session on 27th, but Subtle Shifts in Atmosphere... Ruling and Opposition Parties Seek Common Ground in 8-Member Consultative Meeting

[Asia Economy Reporters Ryu Jeong-min and Geum Bo-ryeong] President Moon Jae-in raised the necessity of "sufficient review" regarding the amendment of the Media Arbitration Act, adding a new variable to the confrontation line between the ruling and opposition parties.

The Democratic Party of Korea has expressed its intention to pass the bill in the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 27th, but the political burden is intensifying.

On the 23rd, President Moon held a press conference on the presidential plane returning from his visit to the United States and said, "Since the media, civic groups, and the international community are raising various issues, those points need to be sufficiently reviewed."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Blue House had been cautious about commenting on the Media Arbitration Act, stating that it is a matter to be discussed in the National Assembly, but internally there were concerns that the Media Arbitration Act could become a trigger for conflict between the ruling and opposition parties during the last regular session of the Moon administration.

President Moon’s statement on August 31, welcoming the decision to take time for maturation for additional review regarding the formation of a bipartisan consultative body on the Media Arbitration Act, was also in this context.

Although the ruling party’s deadline for processing the bill is approaching, the ruling and opposition parties are still running on parallel lines. The biggest issue is the ‘punitive damages system.’ The Democratic Party maintains the broad framework of punitive damages.

However, they proposed deleting the ‘provisions presuming intentional or gross negligence in false or fabricated reports’ and suggested the alternative expression ‘untruthful reports.’ The amount of damages was also revised from the existing ‘up to five times’ to ‘up to 50 million won or three times the amount of damages.’ However, the People Power Party stated that the revised bill is a regression compared to the original. They argue that punitive damages should be completely removed and that ‘substantial damages compensation’ should be implemented.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, after President Moon’s remarks became known, the Democratic Party somewhat lowered its stance from the goal of ‘processing in the plenary session on the 27th’ to ‘hope to process.’ Ko Yong-jin, the senior spokesperson of the Democratic Party, said at a meeting with reporters after the Supreme Council meeting on the 24th, "We will try to reach the maximum agreement in the eight-member bipartisan consultative body by the 26th, and hope to process the result in the plenary session on the 27th." The eight-member consultative body meetings are scheduled for the 24th and 26th.

The People Power Party is preparing countermeasures, focusing on the possibility of forcibly passing the bill in the plenary session on the 27th. Jeon Ju-hye, a member of the People Power Party and part of the eight-member consultative body, said in a phone interview that "We will discuss again in the remaining meetings, but if they forcibly pass the bill, we are even planning a filibuster (unlimited debate)."

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party currently in the United States, also emphasized at a meeting with Korean students at George Washington University on the 23rd (local time), "When we return, the Democratic Party will attempt legislation, and we will block it by any means necessary."