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| Members of a subcommittee of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee hold a meeting at the Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea members of the committee passed a revision bill aimed at prosecuting media outlets or reporters for fake news, despite opposition lawmakers' strong protest. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun |
Opposition party, press groups concerns of undermining freedom of expression
By Jung Da-min
The liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) push to revise a law to enable the prosecution of media outlets or reporters for producing "fake news" is drawing concern that it could violate press freedom.
At a subcommittee meeting of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, Tuesday, DPK members and a liberal minor opposition party member passed a revision bill to the Act on Press Arbitration, while members of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) did not take part in the vote in protest.
The revision will be confirmed if passed by the legislative committee and voted on in a plenary session of the Assembly.
The bill will allow the imposition of punitive damages on media companies for reporting damaging disinformation or misinformation, widely known as "fake news." According to the bill, those damaged by fake news due to the "intent" of reporters or media outlets, or gross negligence can claim punitive damages amounting to five times the damage they suffered. In cases where it is difficult to calculate the damage, the upper ceiling will be 100 million won ($86,460).
But critics say the revision could be used as a means to block criticism of political and economic "power," which is one of the main roles of the media. They said media outlets may feel hesitant to cover and report thorny issues, such as corruption allegations against influential or powerful figures, over concerns that they could face a punitive lawsuit.
In the subcommittee meeting, Rep. Choi Hyung-du of the PPP said, "It would be difficult for us to see a brave reporter like Kim Eui-kyeom with such a bill," referring to Kim, a former reporter who is now a lawmaker and consented to the bill in the meeting. Kim, who was at the progressive daily newspaper Hankyoreh, reported some major stories on the corruption allegations against former President Park Geun-hye in 2016, which led to her impeachment.
PPP spokesman Rep. Kang Min-kuk said Wednesday that no other country has a separate, punitive damages system that just targets the media, citing a report by the National Assembly Research Service.
"Applying such a punitive damages system to the media, which works for the public good, is an excessive double punishment that weakens the function of the media to be critical of the powers that be," Kang said. "It will be abused as a means of curbing media coverage that is unfavorable to the incumbent ruling bloc."
Some interest groups have also voiced concerns over the revision bill.
Five media-related groups, including the Journalists Association of Korea and the Korea News Editors' Association, issued a joint statement, Wednesday, condemning the revision bill and saying any attempt to control the media will bring about serious harm to democracy, as seen with the country's past dictatorships.
"We strongly oppose the DPK's push to pass the revision and urge it to stop such an anti-democratic revision process," they said.
The groups defined the revision as a bad law attempting to prevent reports critical of the government and ruling party contenders ahead of the presidential election.
"Looking at our history, we are well aware that control of the press causes major damage and pain to the people, and to democracy. While past military dictatorial regimes controlled freedom of speech through force, now the ruling party is trying to control it through its supermajority position in the Assembly," they said, adding they will take every measure to prevent the bill's passage including filing a petition with the Constitutional Court.
The People's Coalition for Media Reform, said more discussion was needed to deal with concerns over the bill, criticizing the DPK for unilaterally pushing for the revision without consulting civic organizations or other political parties.
But the DPK remains firm in its stance. DPK spokesman Rep. Han Jun-ho said Wednesday that the bill is aimed at protecting individuals who are harmed by fake news, saying that applications by such individuals to the Press Arbitration Commission have increased six times compared to 20 years ago.
"Fake news not only damages one's reputation but also causes mental harm and financial damage to individuals, making it impossible for them to maintain a normal life," Han said in a written commentary. "The Constitutional Court has also ruled that a legal mechanism should be prepared to quickly and appropriately protect individual rights and interests from unfair damage caused by the media. The revision can protect the public from such damage and in this sense it should be called the 'Fake News Damage Relief Act.'"
