16 media and labor civil society organizations, including the National Press Workers’ Union, carried out an intensive struggle, urging the passage of the amendment to the Broadcasting-related Act at the plenary session. Media and labor civil society groups held a press conference in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 21st and said, “Passing the Public Broadcasting Political Independence Act is a historic task entrusted to the 21st National Assembly,” and urged “all political parties to participate in the resolution of the bill.” Also, on this day, a broadcasting van was deployed near the National Assembly to conduct a tour, and the next day, a propaganda campaign was carried out around the National Assembly. Then, on the 25th, from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., 30 people held a relay 108 times at the main gate of the National Assembly and called for the enactment of amendments to the Broadcasting-related Act.
However, the amendment to the Broadcasting Act, which was expected to be submitted to the plenary session on the 21st, was ultimately not submitted on that day. Amendments to broadcasting-related laws such as the Broadcasting Act, the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Association Act, and the Korea Educational Broadcasting Corporation Act were previously submitted to the plenary session of the National Assembly under the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea on April 27. However, due to opposition from the opposition party, it was not presented for nearly five months, and in the meantime, the public broadcasting director and KBS president were dismissed.
The spark of hope came to life when Park Kwang-on, former floor leader of the Democratic Party, announced on the 18th that he would definitely pass the amendment to the Broadcasting-related Act in this regular session of the National Assembly. In the media world, it was predicted that the bill could be submitted to the plenary session on the 21st, and at a meeting between the ruling and opposition party floor leaders presided over by National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo on the 20th, expectations grew further as the Democratic Party strongly demanded that the amendment be submitted to the plenary session. However, in the end, the submission of the amendment to the Broadcasting-related Act failed, and furthermore, due to the internal conflict in the Democratic Party that arose when the motion for arrest of Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myeong passed the National Assembly, the plenary session has been postponed indefinitely.
In a joint statement issued on the 22nd, media and labor civil society안전놀이터 organizations said, “The situation is chaotic. “The processing of key bills such as the three broadcasting laws and the labor union law, which were sent to the National Assembly by gathering the will of the people, is in danger of being lost in the muddy current of political chaos,” he said. “However, the progress of democracy and freedom of the press cannot be stopped just because the situation is chaotic.” He said. He continued, “Apart from the internal political chaos, the Democratic Party must do whatever it takes to complete the processing of the three broadcasting laws within September,” and “The Speaker of the National Assembly should also immediately put the three broadcasting laws on the agenda.” He emphasized, “It is a dereliction of duty as a representative of the National Assembly to not submit bills that are clearly necessary for the people’s livelihood and the advancement of democracy under the pretext of differences of opinion between the ruling and opposition parties.”
On the 25th, media and labor civil society groups also held a relay 108 protest to urge the enactment of broadcasting-related laws as scheduled. The 108th relay, which started with Yoon Chang-hyun, chairman of the media union, included participation not only from media officials but also from civil society, including Lee Jong-hoon, secretary general of Green Hospital, and Han Seok-ho, secretary general of the Jeon Tae-il Foundation. Immediately after the 108 bows, Chairman Yoon Chang-hyeon said, “Compared to the suffocating situation where words and writing are taken away, the pain this 108 bows brings is nothing,” and “I feel like my mind is emptying and my head is clearing.” “I will fight with you until the day when we achieve freedom of the press and political independence of broadcasting with a clearer mind,” he said.
Meanwhile, this amendment to the Broadcasting-related Act currently applies to 9-member and 11-member KBS , MBC , and EBS.It contains provisions to expand the board of directors to a 21-member ‘Public Broadcasting Steering Committee’ that reflects representation from each sector of society. The bill also includes a ‘special majority system’ in which the ‘Viewer President Recommendation and Evaluation Committee’ recommends multiple candidates for the president, and the president is decided by a vote of more than two-thirds of the registered steering committee members.
