A bill to amend the Act on Press Arbitration was introduced to recognize that filing for mediation with the Press Arbitration Commission in itself satisfies the statute of limitations for lawsuits seeking corrections or rebuttals. The aim is to eliminate the "blind spot in filing periods" in which parties lose the chance to sue while going through mediation.
On the 30th, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jang-kyom said he had led the introduction of the "Press Arbitration Blind Spot Elimination Act (amendment to the Act on Press Arbitration)," which aligns the timing mismatch between the Press Arbitration Commission's mediation process and the court litigation system with reality.
Under the current Act on Press Arbitration, if someone suffers damage from an incorrect report, the person may apply for mediation with the Press Arbitration Commission or file a lawsuit with a court seeking a correction or rebuttal. However, both procedures must be pursued within three months from the date the report was recognized and within six months from the date the report was published.
The problem is that mediation with the commission takes considerable time. According to the lawmaker's office, when a party seeks to proceed to litigation after rejecting the mediation result, there are not few cases in which the filing period expires while waiting for the mediation to conclude.
In fact, data from the commission show that the average time to handle one media dispute this year was 26.1 days, roughly double the statutory deadline of 14 days. The time required for mediation has been increasing every year. Processing times showed an upward trend: ▲14.8 days in 2022 ▲21.5 days in 2023 ▲25.7 days in 2024 ▲26.1 days in 2025.
As a result, in the field there are more cases of filing a lawsuit at the same time as applying for mediation to avoid missing the filing period. However, critics say this undermines the intent of the commission's mediation system, which seeks to resolve disputes through agreement between the parties, and results in unnecessary litigation.
The amendment would recognize that if a party applies for mediation with the commission within the statutory deadline, any subsequent lawsuit seeking a correction or rebuttal is also deemed to have met the filing period. The purpose is to allow victims to fully observe the mediation outcome and file a lawsuit only when necessary.
To prevent misuse or abuse of the system, the bill also includes an exception that deems the filing period satisfied only if a lawsuit is filed within one month after the mediation procedure ends.
Kim said, "The time limits in the Act on Press Arbitration are intended to prevent difficulties in establishing the truth as time passes, to avoid social confusion, and to ensure the legal stability of media companies," while adding, "It is excessive to block even victims who have already exercised their rights by applying for mediation from having the opportunity to sue."
Kim added, "With this amendment, we hope to reduce emotional strain and waste of resources from litigation and see more cases resolved through dialogue and agreement at the commission."