Media Unions Protest Bill Passage
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Media unions and civic groups staged a protest against the passage, Wednesday, of disputed media-related bills.
The National Union of Media Workers (NUMW) _ an umbrella union _ which started a walkout Tuesday to protest the bills, said it will not forgive National Assembly speaker Kim Hyong-o and the governing Grand National Party (GNP) for railroading the bills.
The union said it will launch a campaign and take all steps to nullify the passage.
After the GNP and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) failed to reach an agreement, Kim used his authority to call a vote for the bills, which would allow newspapers and chaebol to own broadcasters and cable networks. Following a physical protest from the DP at the Assembly, he had vice speaker Lee Yoon-sung preside over the vote on his behalf and the bills were passed.
Dozens of union members entered the Assembly building to help DP members prevent GNP lawmakers from entering the main chamber, but failed.
``We'll record July 22, 2009, as the date the struggle for democracy began. We may not change the world, but we will not allow it to go backward,'' the union said in a statement.
Police apprehended dozens of unionized media workers who entered the National Assembly for illegal trespassing.
The KBS union, which does not belong to the NUMW, joined the collective action _ some 1,000 members staged a rally at the television station's headquarters in Seoul.
``We join the walkout because the bills do not consider broadcasters' public role but focuses only on capitalism,'' a union member said.
Non-unionized workers at KBS, MBC, SBS and YTN replaced unionist hosts of news and other programs.
Civic groups denounced the passage of the bills. ``The bills will destroy freedom of speech and the diversity of public opinion,'' they said in a rally near the Assembly building in Yeouido.
Besides the media workers, unions belonging to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) joined the walkout. The KCTU launched a three-day strike, saying the media was the last bastion of democracy and should not be controlled by chaebol.