Lee Urges Promulgation of 'Broadcasting 3 Laws' Passed by the Plenary Session
"Yoon Said Freedom of the Press Is Democracy, Didn't He?"
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged the promulgation of the so-called 'Broadcasting Three Acts' passed solely by the opposition party in the National Assembly, directly criticizing President Yoon Seok-yeol to stop his 'veto politics.'
At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 13th, Lee said, "South Korea has been a model for many countries as a nation where democracy has developed and matured, but unfortunately, the New York Times reported on the 10th that 'President Yoon Seok-yeol's zeal for media control recalls South Korea's military dictatorship era.'" He added, "This was a criticism of the prosecution intimidating and targeting media critical of the administration."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on the 13th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Recalling the 'Broadcasting Three Acts' passed in the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 9th, led by the Democratic Party while the ruling party had walked out, Lee said, "The promulgation of the Broadcasting Three Acts is the last chance to correct the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's misguided view of the media, which has become an international embarrassment, and to restore press freedom." He criticized, "We must stop this politics of 'saying one thing and doing another,' where they say they will change in the face of the people's harsh judgment but then exercise veto power behind the scenes."
He continued, "They reject public opinion, reject the National Assembly, abuse veto power, recklessly appoint personnel without report adoption, and this veto politics must end now." He reiterated, "If the president, who said during his candidacy that press freedom is fundamental to a democratic society, now vetoes the legislation of the Broadcasting Three Acts, it is no different from past authoritarian governments that claimed to be champions of press freedom while purging the media."
Earlier, the so-called 'Broadcasting Three Acts,' amendments to the Broadcasting Act, the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Act, and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act, passed the plenary session on the 9th. These amendments focus on restructuring the governance of public broadcasters such as KBS, MBC, and EBS. Initially, the People Power Party opposed direct referral and forced passage of the bills and prepared a filibuster, but all members walked out when the bills were put on the plenary session agenda that day.
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