South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party (DP) Thursday decided to return to the National Assembly and take part in next month's regular parliamentary session, ending a month of street protests over the ruling party's unilateral passage of controversial media bills.
"The party will continue to wage a battle against the revised media laws," DP Chairman Chung Sye-kyun told a press conference.
The DP has held a number of street rallies throughout the country since the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) passed revisions to four media-related laws on July 22 in a vote attended only by its own legislators.
The party suspended its protests last week to mourn the death of its former leader, Kim Dae-jung, who served as president from 1998-2003. The parliament is currently in a recess.
The revisions allow private businesses and newspapers to own stakes in broadcast companies. The DP argues their passage was part of government efforts to exercise more control over the media, saying only a handful of heavyweight conservative dailies are well-positioned to enter the broadcast market.
The GNP claims the revisions will help create tens of thousands of jobs and raise the overall competitiveness of the country's media industry.
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