Recently, a bill was introduced to abolish the Korea Communications Commission and establish a new ministry, putting the commission at a crossroads of change. If the new ministry is established, the broadcasting and communication promotion policies currently scattered across other government departments are expected to be concentrated in one place. However, due to the nature of the consensus-based organization, there are criticisms that gathering regulatory and promotional policy functions in one location will inevitably hinder the swift and efficient establishment of broadcasting and communication promotion policies.
On the 25th, Kim Hyun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed a bill to abolish the Korea Communications Commission and establish the 'Audiovisual Media Communications Commission.' If this bill passes the National Assembly, the Korea Communications Commission will be abolished. The newly established Audiovisual Media Communications Commission will be able to uniformly carry out policies related to broadcasting (including paid broadcasting), online video services (OTT), digital platforms, communications regulation and promotion, and user protection.
The broadcasting promotion policy functions, which were previously limited to terrestrial and comprehensive programming channels, will expand to include paid broadcasting (cable TV, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), satellite broadcasting, etc.) previously handled by the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the OTT promotion policy functions scattered across the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will also be integrated into the Audiovisual Media Communications Commission. This ministry will operate in a consensus-based form, just like the existing Korea Communications Commission.
Similarly, the bill for restructuring the Korea Communications Commission proposed by Choi Min-hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, last April contained provisions to consolidate the broadcasting, communication, and content promotion policy functions spread across the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism into one place. The two bills differ only in their stance on the existence and abolition of the Korea Communications Commission, but the contents regarding the functions of the commission are quite similar. Industry insiders believe that since these bills are being pushed by the ruling party, the direction is set towards expanding the functions of the Korea Communications Commission.
However, experts agree on consolidating broadcasting and communication promotion policy functions in one place, but they argue that including promotion policy functions within a consensus-based organization presents problems. Kim Jin-seong, an adjunct professor at Chung-Ang University, noted, "A consensus-based organization requires a majority agreement, which makes it suitable for carrying out regulatory functions that demand caution. However, to carry out swift broadcasting and communication promotion policy functions in a rapidly changing environment, quick and efficient decisions are needed, which will be less effective in a consensus-based structure." He added that a government ministry in a unitary form (a system where a single person is responsible for decision-making or execution) should be established to perform broadcasting and communication promotion policy functions, and regulation must be separated. Departments like the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have ministers who hold the highest decision-making authority in a unitary form.
Meanwhile, the industry views the Democratic Party's addition of the bill to abolish the Korea Communications Commission following the restructuring in April as a countermeasure to the Chairperson Jin Deok-soo's refusal to resign. According to the Korea Communications Commission Act (Article 7), the term of Chairperson Jin Deok-soo is guaranteed until August 24, 2026. From the new government's perspective, there is no way to forcibly remove the chairperson who does not express a willingness to resign.
However, if a law is enacted to abolish the Korea Communications Commission, Chairperson Jin Deok-soo, whose term is guaranteed until next August, will lose her position. It will also become possible for the president to appoint the head of the newly established ministry to replace the existing chairperson. Professor Ahn noted, "We will have to see what direction the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning decides on for the restructuring of the Korea Communications Commission to understand the outline, and even if the commission is abolished, if it is an organization performing the same functions as before, I will not push for legislation in a way that just changes the name."