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Rep. Ko Heung-kil, chairman of the National Assembly Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, smiles after the Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that media bills railroaded by the governing Grand National Party(GNP) last July are valid. At second from right is Rep. Kim Young-woo of the GNP. / Korea Times Photo by Oh Dae-geun |
 By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
English media, especially newspapers, will play a bigger role in Korean politics, a parliamentary leader has said, noting that overseas Koreans will be entitled to vote in elections starting from 2012.
``It is important to note that a large number of overseas Koreans live in English-speaking countries, including the United States which has about 1.2 million ethnic Koreans,'' said Rep. Ko Heung-kil, chairman of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee.
The next National Assembly elections are slated for mid-2012, and the presidential poll is scheduled for December that year.
Early this year, the legislature passed a revision bill that grants suffrage to 2.4 million Korean residents abroad, in response to a Constitutional Court ruling in June 2007 that recognized their right to cast ballots in elections in their motherland.
The figure is approximately six times higher than the margin of votes that determined the winner of the 1997 presidential race, or four times more than that of the votes that determined the winner of the 2002 presidential poll.
However, many of them, especially those whose Korean-language skills are limited, may pick candidates based on inaccurate and one-sided information, Ko, 65, said in an interview with The Korea Times to mark the newspaper's 59th anniversary, which falls Sunday.
Growing Role of English Media
Ko, a former senior journalist, pointed out that local English media will play a pivotal role in choosing candidates and forming public opinion in Korean elections among second- and third-generation Koreans who are more comfortable using English than Korean.
Parties are already busy trying to secure their votes. Last week, the governing Grand National Party (GNP) formed a special committee dedicated to improving communications with Korean residents abroad. The panel is composed of 113 of 169 lawmakers in the party.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) is also planning to strength its network with overseas Koreans by launching a similar committee.
Ko said that local English newspapers, such as The Korea Times, will help parties convey their visions and campaign pledges to overseas voters more effectively.
The three-term lawmaker said media-based campaigns will be more effective and less expensive in winning the votes of Koreans living abroad, considering that ethnic Koreans are spread all over the globe.
He forecast that the influence of English media outlets will grow in Korea, saying that the language is becoming a ``must'' here.
Ko said he learns English at 6 a.m. every day with a native English teacher, who uses English newspapers published in Korea as teaching tools.
Ko's remarks came as the country is preparing to adopt the dual citizenship system in an effort to attract talented foreigners and cope with the brain drain.
Korea is fast becoming a multicultural society with 1.15 million foreign residents.
A Window to Korea
Ko said The Korea Times has served as the window to Asia's fourth-largest economy since the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War, which involved forces from over a dozen nations. The newspaper was founded on Nov. 1, 1950, during the war, as the nation's first English daily.
He said the paper has successfully fulfilled its responsibility to provide accurate information and insight on Korea to foreigners at home and abroad.
He said politicians and investors in many countries consult credible English media in Korea, such as The Korea Times, before making decisions.
"I'd like to thank The Korea Times for its sweat and passion. It is admirable that the paper has served as a prime source of information to foreign nationals for the past six decades," Ko said.
Limited English TV Service
On English television services in Korea, Ko said that program providers and companies offering Internet protocol TV (IPTV) service should pay closer attention to the needs of the growing foreign population in Korea.
Korea has two English television channels, namely Arirang TV and KBS World. Yet, critics say that accessing either of the two channels is not easy even for those residing in Korea, though the government is pouring tens of million dollars each year to maintain the services. The annual budget of Arirang TV alone is more than 50 billion won ($42.3 million)
``Unfortunately, accessibility to local English channels has been limited to foreigners because some service providers have overlooked the demand for English-language channels,'' Ko said. ``Yet, I am optimistic that more and more service providers will decide to provide more English channels, including Arirang TV, as the foreign community here is increasingly having a bigger voice.''
KT, which started to air Arirang TV from September, is the only IPTV service provider offering domestic English channels. LG and SK offer numerous foreign English channels, such as Japan's CCTV, German's DW and Britain's BBC, but have been reluctant to air domestic English channels.
Unlike cable channel service providers, IPTV companies do not have any obligation to broadcast public channels such as Arirang TV, which provide a variety of programs to 188 countries in seven languages, including English, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic.
With regard to KBS World, Ko said he doubts either local providers or KBS would be interested in broadcasting the English channel in Korea because it targets Korean expatriates and non-Koreans abroad.
KBS World provides local KBS programs with English subtitles and dubbing and differs from Arirang's objectives of becoming Korea's global public relations agent, promoting positive images of the country.
Subtitles
By law, many advanced countries, including the United States, have made it mandatory for television programs to be aired with caption notes for those with hearing difficulties.
Ko, who is also president of the Korea Stenographers Association, said Korea also makes caption notes and the accuracy is known to be one of the world's best.
He said the nation's three major terrestrial TV broadcasters provide caption notes on over 90 percent of their contents and smaller broadcasters, such as YTN, Welfare TV and local networks, have begun to follow suit.
However, he pointed out that cable and IPTV providers, which have penetrated into 90 percent of households, do not have legal obligations to make or air caption notes.
``Currently, our committee members and lawmakers of the welfare committee are working to revise the Broadcasting Law and the Anti-Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities Act to address the program,'' Ko said.
Asked why Korean broadcasters and program providers do not provide foreign-language subtitles, which are often produced for international distribution, he said, service providers are reluctant to do so because of copyright issues and additional costs.
Hardly any cable or IPTV companies provide English or multilingual English subtitle services, leaving foreigners residing in Korea frustrated.
In response, he said his committee has funded 1 billion won for the production of English subtitles for Korean programs.
``The English subtitles service will commence as early as mid-November,'' he said. ``IPTV viewers will be able to select either English or Korean subtitles on some 960 programs, including documentaries and soap operas.''
Ko said that he hopes the subtitle service will be a success and more program providers offer services.
New Media Law
The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that media reform bills railroaded by the ruling party in July at the National Assembly were valid, removing the last legal hurdle for newspapers and conglomerates to own broadcasting and cable news networks.
Ko said the enactment of the law is a response to mounting calls for the need to foster ``globally competitive'' media groups.
Developed countries like the United States, France and Japan are nurturing global media companies, including Time Warner, News Corporation, Vivendi and Fuji Media Holdings, he noted. ``The sales of KBS, the nation's largest broadcaster, are 20 times smaller than those of Time Warner. The sales of Korea's three major networks are roughly equal to those of Fuji TV group, which is only the world's 20th in size.''
Ko argued that excessive regulations hampered the development of Korea's media industry. He said he expects a ``big bang'' in the media industry with the passage of the new laws.
With the ruling, conglomerates, print media and news agencies will be able to hold up to a 10-percent stake in broadcasting firms. Foreigners will also be able to have up to a 20-percent share in broadcasters.
In this regard, Ko said the measure will serve as a stepping stone to opening more doors to large domestic firms and foreign investors.
``I firmly believe the limit on foreign investors should be further lifted and the ceiling on conglomerates should be lifted to at least 20 percent, instead of 10 percent,'' Ko said. ``However, I am hopeful that the law, which has been greatly compromised in the process of inter-party negotiations, will give a lesson to its critics and opposition lawmakers on how important it is to liberalize the market in this era of globalization.''
leeth@koreatimes.co.kr
Who Is Ko Heung-kil?
Ko Heung-kil, 65, serves as chairman of the National Assembly's Committee of Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications.
Ko began his journalistic career when he joined the JoongAng Ilbo as a reporter in 1968 and served as managing editor of the newspaper in 1995.
The former veteran journalist entered politics in 1997 as an adviser to Lee Hoi-chang, who was then-presidential candidate of the Grand National Party.
He was first elected to the National Assembly in 2000 and re-elected in 2004 and 2008.
Despite objections from opposition parties, the committee chairman invoked his right to table disputed media industry-related bills in February.
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경찰, 이태원 등 외국인 밀집지역 특별관리
