The Constitutional Court Thursday acknowledged problems in the voting process of disputed media bills but ruled them valid.

The reform package, which consists of three separate laws governing newspapers, broadcasting and Internet TV, was passed by the majority-wielding Grand National Party (GNP) while opposition parties boycotted.

The reform bills eliminate ownership restrictions in the media industry, allowing for the first time in 29 years the cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcasting stations, according to Yonhap News Agency.

President Lee Myung-bak and the GNP have said the deregulation measures will improve the industry's overall competitiveness and help create tens of thousands of new jobs.
Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office, said it will "respect the decision of the Constitutional Court."

During a heated parliamentary session in July, some 150 ruling party lawmakers cast their votes on the laws and passed them by a majority in the 299-seat National Assembly. The passage was immediately refuted by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which claimed that many of the votes were cast not by legislators but by their aides or colleagues during a violent clash between the rival parties.

The broadcasting law was put to a revote by a vice National Assembly speaker when the first vote failed to meet the quorum, a violation of the assembly procedure, the DP said.

The DP filed a petition with the Constitutional Court asking to nullify the media laws, citing procedural violations.

The nine-member Constitutional Court agreed with the DP's claim of the violations, acknowledging there were proxy votes and that an immediate revote on a single legislation is against the Assembly's rules, but concluded the laws' passage is still valid.