KOREA: Political parties go separate ways

Democratic Party legislators seek to nullify passage of media bills, while some Grand National Party legislators want to ease cross-media ownership regulations even further

The Korea Times
Sunday, July 26, 2009

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Chilly inter-party relations following the railroading of media bills last Wednesday are expected to continue as the ruling and opposition parties remain at odds.

The governing Grand National Party (GNP), which has called on the Democratic Party (DP) to return to the National Assembly, is considering giving tax benefits to investors in broadcasting firms.

The main opposition DP, which launched a 100-day campaign to hit the streets to protest the GNP's unilateral passage of the bills through what it called a flawed procedure, will set up an interim body to strengthen "street protests."

DP Chairman Chung Sye-kyun, who tendered his resignation from his parliamentary seat last Friday, will lead the interim body, party sources said.

Opposition parties claimed there was a procedural flaw in the vote because GNP legislators voted twice on the same bill as the first attempt failed to meet a quorum.

The DP brought the case to the Constitutional Court to nullify it. Eighty-four sitting DP lawmakers, including Chairman Chung, tendered resignations to Speaker Kim Hyong-o to protest the GNP's unilateral vote.

Speaker Kim, however, said he would not accept their resignations.

The governing party is encouraging business leaders and newspaper publishers to invest in broadcasting companies.

GNP chief policymaker Rep. Kim Seong-jo said Sunday that his party hopes technology convergence in the media industry will take place as early as possible.

"The GNP is considering a variety of benefits to encourage businesses to find opportunities in the industry, including tax benefits," Kim said.

His comments came in a response to growing skepticism inside the GNP about the effectiveness of the latest legislation.

Some GNP legislators said political compromise led to ineffective legislation.

They said businesses and newspapers are reluctant to invest due to heavy regulations.

The ruling party modified the key elements of the bills aimed at allowing newspapers and conglomerates to own terrestrial broadcasting and cable networks.

Initially, the GNP called for a 30- and 49-percent ceiling for stakes that a newspaper or a business can have in them.

But the ratios went down to 10 and 30 percent, respectively in the face of strong opposition.

Some GNP lawmakers, mostly members of the Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, claimed the stake limits are too low to attract conglomerates and newspapers to see business opportunities in broadcasting companies. They called for easing regulations through a revision of the bills.

Date Posted: 7/26/2009