Controversy likely to continue over media rep bill escalates

The long-disputed advertising brokerage bill involving the nation's TV broadcasters passed a parliamentary committee on Thursday, a major step toward getting a full parliamentary approval, but controversy over the bill is unlikely to die down soon due to a strong backlash from opposition lawmakers and some media organizations.

The "media rep" bill has been pending at the National Assembly for more than three years since the Constitutional Court ruled in November 2008 that the state-run Korea Broadcast Advertising Corp.'s monopoly on TV ads was unconstitutional.

On late Thursday night, the ruling Grand National Party (GNP)-dominated National Assembly unilaterally passed the controversial bill through a full session of the parliamentary standing committee as the main opposition boycotted the session.

The bill calls for allocating a single advertising broker for public stations such as KBS and MBC and EBS and multiple representatives for private stations such as SBS and other cable channels.

Several general programming cable channels launched late last year will not be included in the regulation for three years from the day each received official permission for business.

In addition, the bill allows a private broadcaster to hold up to 40 percent of shares in a media rep for private stations.

Opposition lawmakers and civic organizations, including the Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media, have argued the bill favors new general-programming cable channels run by influential dailies such as JoongAng Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo by guaranteeing their rights to make money on TV commercials for the remaining two-and-a-half year grace period.

They also expressed concern that the media rep system originally intended to control influential media's dominance of broadcasting ads would instead stir overheated competition in the ad market.

Since the GNP pushed the bill through the parliamentary committee on culture, sports, tourism, broadcasting and communications, it will not be easy to draw consent from opposition lawmakers to pass it through a parliamentary legislation committee and full floor session.

Even if the GNP-controlled Assembly gives final approval to the bill eventually, the move is unlikely to end the controversy with some already vowing to revise the bill.

Kim Jin-pyo, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Unity Party, said Friday his party will revise the media rep bill even if it passes a full floor session "in order to secure the openness and diversity of local news media."

"The people would rage over the (ruling party's) act to push ahead an unstable bill to give special benefits to certain television channels that would help the party stay in power," Kim was quoted as saying during a party leadership meeting.

The National Union of Media Workers also vowed to launch a struggle to abolish some "poisonous clauses" of the bill. (Yonhap)