Cable TV Broadcasting Association Launches Private-Led 'Media Legislation Committee'

Competing with Global Media Requires Prior Enactment of Media Law

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] The Korea Cable TV Broadcasting Association announced on the 17th that it will form a private-sector 'Media Legislation Committee' to respond to the rapidly changing global media environment.

The Media Legislation Committee will consist of an expert committee composed of private media field specialists and a working committee mainly made up of legal professionals responsible for legislative work. The chairperson is Professor Hong Dae-sik of Sogang University Law School.

The reason the association launched the Media Legislation Committee is due to growing calls for establishing a legal framework to strengthen the autonomy and competitiveness of domestic operators as global media companies steadily encroach on the domestic market.

Chairperson Hong Dae-sik lamented, "Although the government previously set the launch of the Media Innovation Committee as a national agenda, related discussions remain distant, and although departments promoting the disclosure of broadcasting media legislative reform plans and the enactment of the Media Integration Act have been established, progress is slow."

The committee aims to first prepare and propose media legislation that allows operators to have autonomy and enhance their own competitiveness.

It plans to analyze and organize various issues currently arising in the private media sector and present them in the form of legislation to enable operators to maintain existing businesses while discovering new services, focusing on ▲ minimal regulation ▲ tiered access ▲ fair competition and user protection ▲ separation of public media.

The plan is to primarily draft the outline of the legislation in the first half of 2023.

Chairperson Hong pointed out, "Although the application of digital technology and the development of media platforms have greatly changed the competitive landscape and user consumption patterns in the media sector, the existing broadcasting legislation focuses only on expanding the public responsibilities centered on terrestrial broadcasting to existing private media." He added, "The Private Media Legislation Committee will actively work on the front lines to contribute to the improvement of media policies and the foundation for industrial promotion under the new government."