[2023 National Audit] Lee Dong-gwan, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, "Legislation to Strengthen Portal Accountability... Eradicate Fake News"

"Establishing a Plan to Eradicate Fake News Within the Year"
"Preventing Reverse Discrimination Between Domestic and Foreign Operators"

Lee Dong-kwan, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, stated on the 10th, "We will establish a comprehensive plan to eradicate fake news within the year," adding, "We will also pursue legislative improvements to enhance the accountability of portal representatives."

Chairman Lee made these remarks while attending the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee's audit on the same day.

Lee Dong-kwan, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission

In his opening remarks, he reported, "We have prepared measures to eradicate fake news, which has emerged as a serious social issue," and added, "We are operating a public-private consultative body involving portal operators and have established a fake news policy response team."

He then stated, "We will establish a comprehensive plan to eradicate fake news within the year."

He emphasized, "There is a public consensus that strengthening the accountability of portals is necessary, considering the influence portals have, which effectively act as the media."

He continued, "We will pursue legislative improvements such as specifying the scope of macro usage prohibition within portals and enhancing the accountability of portal representatives," and said, "When legislating, we will ensure fairness between domestic and international operators to prevent reverse discrimination against domestic operators."

Additionally, the Korea Communications Commission is pushing for amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act to respond to unfair practices by platform operators and is conducting a fact-finding investigation following an inspection of Naver's news service.

Finally, Chairman Lee stated, "We will promote the leap to becoming a global media powerhouse, reform the structure of public broadcasting, strengthen user protection from fake news, and enhance the accountability of portals."