The Democratic Party of Korea has begun full discussions on the 'media reform bill' aimed at fundamentally overhauling the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) and Broadcasting Communication Review Committee (BCRC). This is an effort to restore the diminished status and authority of the KCC during the previous Yoon Suk-yeol government or to legislate for the establishment of a substitute organization.
The Democratic Party's media reform special committee held a discussion on the 'normalization of the Korea Communications Commission and media organization restructuring plan' in conjunction with the Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media at the National Assembly member's building on the 19th. The meeting discussed restructuring in two directions.
Chairperson Choi Min-hee noted, 'The current spirit of the age is to normalize public broadcasting and to normalize the KCC and BCRC,' emphasizing, 'We will promptly revise the broadcasting law to restore democratic order and reorganize the Korea Communications Commission.'
The bill to amend the Korea Communications Commission law, proposed by Chairperson Choi, aims to expand the scope of work by transferring broadcasting and communication convergence and promotion tasks back to the KCC from the Ministry of Science and ICT, and restructuring the current five-member permanent commissioner system into a system of nine permanent and non-permanent commissioners. The KCC initially took charge of all broadcasting and communication tasks when it was established, but its functions were diminished when the Park Geun-hye government transferred the authority for paid broadcasting and Internet multimedia broadcasting service provider (IPTV) licenses, approvals, and registrations to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.
Kim Hyun, the committee's secretary, referred to the 'bill to establish the audiovisual media communication committee' that he introduced, stressing, 'It must be enacted within 50 days.'
He emphasized, 'The structure had structural limitations that allowed public broadcasting directors to be replaced arbitrarily, which is why the KCC could be operated at will,' adding, 'If the processing of the three broadcasting laws and the establishment of the audiovisual media communication committee do not align, media reform will not move forward at all.' He continued, 'To respond to the new media policy environment, we need to enact a new committee establishment law.'
Kim's proposal calls for abolishing the KCC and establishing the 'audiovisual media communication committee' as a central administrative agency under the president that oversees all media, including broadcasting, online video services (OTT), communication, and digital content. Additionally, the BCRC would be restructured into the audiovisual media communication review committee, introducing a personnel hearing system for the chairperson and including it in the targets of impeachment to enhance the accountability and control of the BCRC.
Kim stated, 'It is essential to normalize a consensual body for political independence and democratic legitimacy, and we desperately need an integrated ministry to respond to the media convergence environment,' adding, 'This is not a law aimed at removing or ousting anyone.' This remark takes into account that if the bill is passed, the current term of BCRC Chairperson Lee Jin-sook will automatically end.
Experts attending the discussion criticized the current structure of the KCC and agreed on the need for reform. Professor Choi Young-mook of Seonggyungwan University pointed out, '(When it was launched) the KCC was a consensual body that performed both promotion and regulation functions, but now it is not functioning as a consensual body and can only perform limited regulatory functions.'
He said, 'The Yoon Suk-yeol government has collapsed the consensus system, and we are in a situation where a verdict of illegality has been made. There is no way to not normalize the KCC,' adding, 'There are claims to restore it to its original state at its launch, and there is a position to reconstruct it on a larger framework.' He then evaluated that if the Choi proposal is 'restoration,' Kim's proposal is closer to 'reconstruction.'
Yang Han-yeol, head of the Open Media Research Institute, emphasized, 'Legacy media such as terrestrial broadcasting are not relatively concerning. Rather, illegal content, hate speech, and manipulated false information on new digital platforms like YouTube and OTT are serious issues,' adding, 'The areas where regulation is needed are in the digital media market.'
The Democratic Party's media reform special committee plans to hold a 'discussion on the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act' on the 1st of next month to continue the public discourse on the relevant legislation, aiming to process related bills at the plenary session as early as September.