Assembly vote on 'fake news' bill will not come this year
Floor leaders of the two major parties, Rep. Yun Ho-jung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, left, and Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon of the main opposition People Power Party, right, fist-bump each other during a meeting presided over by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug in his office at the Assembly, Wednesday, to discuss the contentious “fake news” bill. They decided to form a special committee for further discussion on the matter through Dec. 31. Yonhap
By Jung Da-min
The so-called “fake news” bill, which the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has been pushing, will not be put to a vote in the National Assembly by the end of the year, as the ruling and opposition blocs agreed to delay it for further review amid criticism from here and abroad that it risks undermining press freedom, with even President Moon Jae-in expressing concerns.
Considering the political parties will be going all out for the March 9 presidential election next year, the National Assembly vote can be delayed further, and may even be thrown out entirely if a candidate of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), which opposes the bill, wins the election.
The DPK and the PPP agreed Wednesday to form a special committee to further discuss details of the revision bill to the Act on Press Arbitration as well as other media-related laws through Dec. 31. Accordingly, the introduction of the bill at the National Assembly for a plenary vote will not take place before that time.
“Members of the media, civic organizations and expert groups have repeatedly requested that overall discussions of other media-related laws should also accompany those on the Press Arbitration Act,” DPK floor leader Rep. Yun Ho-jung said after his meeting with PPP floor leader Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon and National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, during which they agreed to create the special committee.
Kim said: “We made the decision after much deliberation in order to respect the basic principle that the ruling and opposition parties run the National Assembly through dialogue and consensus as much as possible.”
The bill would impose punitive damages against media outlets or reporters allegedly producing “fake news,” with the amount of possible compensation being up to fivefold the financial damage suffered by the victims of the alleged disinformation. This faced criticism from media groups both here and abroad over the possibility it could be used to suppress press freedom with ambiguous standards on fake news, and be abused to silence media reports critical of political and economic power.
In early September, the DPK and the PPP formed an eight-member consultative body to discuss the matter but failed to reach an agreement even after 11 meetings. The DPK planned to introduce the bill to the National Assembly for a plenary vote Monday, but reached an agreement with the PPP for further review, apparently giving in to international pressure.
Even President Moon called for a “thorough review” of the bill. He told reporters, Sept. 22, “As the media, civic groups and international groups have raised issues with the bill, I think these should be discussed thoroughly.”
If the two parties fail to reach an agreement by Dec. 31, the DPK could push ahead with a plenary vote on the bill, but might not as it will be focusing on the presidential election. Political watchers say the DPK attempting to railroad the bill may have a negative impact on the party, as seen with its previous railroading of contentious bills earlier this year, which pushed the party's approval rating down.
If the PPP wins the presidential election, the bill may be scrapped entirely, because even if the DPK approves it by taking advantage of its majority position at the Assembly, the president has the right to veto it.