KOREA: DP threatens to resign en masse over media bills

Grand National Party officials say they will have the National Assembly speaker call a vote on the media bills unless Democratic Party members accept their offer of compromise

The Korea Herald
Wednesday, July 22, 2009

By Cho Ji-hyun

The main opposition Democratic Party yesterday threatened that its 84 lawmakers would resign en masse if the ruling Grand National Party pushes to railroad through controversial media bills.

The GNP earlier offered the DP a compromise to ease the opposition party's concerns that the bills would open the way for large businesses and major conservative newspapers to control the broadcasting industry.

GNP officials, however, made it clear the party would press ahead with the passage of the bills by having the National Assembly speaker invoke his authority to call a vote on them unless the compromise was accepted by the DP.

Floor leaders from the rival parties engaged in a last-ditch negotiation late into the night to reach a settlement over the media reform issue over which they have remained at loggerheads for the past eight months.

Unionized workers with the country's newspapers and television networks launched a 100-hour strike yesterday to protest the ruling party's push for media reforms they fear will put the industry in the hands of a select few.

President Lee Myung-bak and the GNP is pushing for the passage of the media bills during the current parliamentary session that ends on Saturday.

The bills would lift a ban prohibiting newspaper companies from owning television channels, a move broadcasters and progressive civic groups strongly oppose. They argue such cross-ownership would lead to the creation of monopolies in the media industry.

Members of the National Union of Media Workers -- including workers at broadcasters MBC, SBS, YTN, EBS and CBS -- started a general strike at 6 a.m., joined by regional newspapers. Several television and radio program hosts suddenly became non-union members, according to the union.

State-run broadcaster KBS, which does not belong to the union, has said it will join the protest today.

MBC's union, one of the staunchest critics of the reform bills, said some 1,500 of its 2,000-member union have joined in the strike. Private-run broadcaster SBS said about 300 of its 1,100 member union plan to participate.

NUMW stressed that the strike is meant to block a vote on the reform bills, not to disrupt daily operations at the media companies.

"We will fight for the independence of the media using all possible measures," the media union said Monday in a press release.

"The government and the ruling party should be prepared for grave consequences should they force the bill through."

President Lee has vowed to amend the media law since his inauguration last year, claiming the move will spur competition between media outlets and bolster the sector he says has fallen behind global standards.

WITH NEWS REPORTS

Date Posted: 7/22/2009