🚨 Broadcasting 3 Laws: Reform for Public Broadcasting Independence and Public Interest

Today Korean Social News | 2025.06.20

📌 Groups Call for Broadcasting 3 Laws Reform: "Missing Golden Time Will Increase Social Distrust"

💬 On June 19, 92 media, civic, cultural, and labor organizations held a press conference in front of the Presidential Office in Seoul, calling for quick passage of the Broadcasting 3 Laws amendments. They argued that political parties' calls for slower progress or bipartisan cooperation could cause them to miss the golden time for normalizing public broadcasting. They insisted that the Lee Jae-myung government should keep its promise of political independence. The coalition emphasized that the Broadcasting 3 Laws are not just institutional changes but people's reform bills to take back public broadcasting. They expressed concern about the delayed discussions and stressed that broadcasting governance improvements and increased citizen participation must guarantee broadcasting's public nature and independence.

Summary

• Broadcasting 3 Laws are public broadcasting reform bills that amend the Broadcasting Act, Broadcasting Culture Promotion Association Act, and Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act.
• The main goals are creating an independent broadcasting environment from political power and expanding citizen participation.
• The aim is to create true public broadcasting for the people by strengthening public broadcasting's public nature and independence.

1️⃣ Definition

Broadcasting 3 Laws means amendments to the Broadcasting Act, Broadcasting Culture Promotion Association Act, and Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act to strengthen public broadcasting independence and public nature, and create a broadcasting environment free from political power.

This is not just institutional reform but people's reform to take back public broadcasting. The goal is to achieve true public broadcasting through improved broadcasting governance and increased citizen participation.

💡 Why is this important?

• Guarantees independent public broadcasting operation free from political power.
• Protects people's right to know and fair access to information.
• Contributes to democratic development by securing broadcasting's public nature and diversity.
• Institutionally guarantees media freedom and independence.

2️⃣ Main Content and Reform Direction of Broadcasting 3 Laws

📕 Key Content of Broadcasting Act Amendment

• Broadcasting Act amendment focuses on reforming the Korea Communications Commission structure. Main content includes:

  • Expanding the current 5-member Korea Communications Commission to 7 members to strengthen political neutrality.
  • Having the ruling and opposition parties each recommend the chairperson and vice-chairperson for political balance.
  • Making National Assembly confirmation hearings mandatory for committee member appointments to increase transparency.
  • Clarifying broadcast business licensing and re-licensing review standards to prevent arbitrary interpretation.

• Democratization of public broadcasting board composition is included. Main improvements include:

  • Reducing government recommendation ratios in KBS and MBC boards while expanding civil society recommendations.
  • Strengthening director qualification requirements to prevent political bias.
  • Increasing transparency in board operations and publicizing decision-making processes.
  • Prioritizing broadcasting expertise and fairness in president selection processes.

📕 Broadcasting Culture Promotion Association Act and Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act Amendments

• Broadcasting Culture Promotion Association Act amendment improves MBC governance structure. Main content includes:

  • Greatly expanding civil society participation in Broadcasting Culture Promotion Association board composition.
  • Limiting government's unilateral director appointments and diversifying recommendation organizations.
  • Strengthening transparency and fairness in MBC management selection processes.
  • Establishing institutional mechanisms to guarantee broadcasting programming and production independence.

• Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act amendment strengthens EBS independence. Main improvement directions include:

  • Limiting excessive Ministry of Education intervention and expanding independence.
  • Increasing participation of education experts and citizen representatives in board composition.
  • Clearly stating programming principles that guarantee educational broadcasting's public nature and diversity.
  • Strengthening independence in budget planning and execution.

📕 Expected Effects and Issues of Amendments

• Broadcasting 3 Laws amendments are expected to have positive effects. Main effects include:

  • Securing public broadcasting political independence enables fair and balanced reporting.
  • Expanding civil society participation strengthens broadcasting's public nature and diversity.
  • Transparent decision-making processes improve public trust.
  • Institutionally blocking attempts to control broadcasting during government changes.

• Issues raised during the amendment process exist. Main issues include:

  • Opposition parties oppose, calling it excessive political intervention.
  • Broadcasting stations internally worry about and are confused by rapid changes.
  • Questions arise about the representativeness and expertise of civil society-recommended directors.
  • Political controversy continues over amendment timing and speed.

Main Challenges of Broadcasting 3 Laws Amendment

1. Political Agreement: Need to resolve sharp conflicts between ruling and opposition parties and achieve bipartisan consensus
2. Implementation Plans: Preparing detailed plans for effective implementation of amended laws
3. Securing Expertise: Guaranteeing broadcasting expertise and independence of civil society-recommended directors
4. System Settlement: Creating an environment where new governance structures can settle stably
5. Public Trust: Recovering public trust in public broadcasting through reform effects

3️⃣ Background and Need for Public Broadcasting Reform

✅ Cases of Political Independence Damage in Public Broadcasting

• Past governments attempted to control public broadcasting. Main cases include:

  • During the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, controversies over KBS and MBC president changes and biased reporting continued.
  • Broadcasting personnel changes based on political orientation restricted media freedom.
  • Programs critical of government policies were repeatedly canceled or changed.
  • Unfair news reporting significantly reduced public trust.

• Current problems with public broadcasting governance structure are evident. Main problems include:

  • Government-recommended directors make up the majority, giving excessive political influence.
  • Korea Communications Commission's political bias makes fair deliberation difficult.
  • Political considerations take priority over broadcasting expertise in president selection processes.
  • Editorial independence is not guaranteed, making stations vulnerable to external pressure.

✅ Overseas Public Broadcasting Cases and Implications

• Overseas public broadcasting has independence guarantee mechanisms. Main cases include:

  • UK's BBC has an independent board (BBC Board) that supervises management and blocks government intervention.
  • Germany's ARD and ZDF have broadcasting councils with participation from all sectors of society that monitor operations.
  • Japan's NHK has a management committee that guarantees independence and maintains political neutrality.
  • France's France Télévisions has independent regulatory agencies that monitor fairness.

• Reform meeting international standards is needed. Main implications include:

  • Independence from political power is a basic principle of public broadcasting.
  • Participation by civil society and expert groups is key to guaranteeing fairness.
  • Transparent decision-making processes and check systems are essential.
  • Long-term stable financial security and operational independence are important.

4️⃣ Related Terms Explained

🔎 Public Broadcasting

• Public broadcasting is public broadcasting operated with citizen taxes or viewing fees.
• Public broadcasting refers to broadcasting stations established by the state or public institutions and operated for the public interest. Korea's KBS, MBC, and EBS are representative public broadcasting stations that pursue public nature and fairness rather than commercial profit.
• Main characteristics of public broadcasting include: First, public nature - prioritizing the interests of all citizens and reflecting the needs of various social groups. Second, fairness - maintaining political neutrality and providing balanced reporting. Third, diversity - respecting minority opinions and cultural diversity. Fourth, educational function - contributing to improving citizens' education and cultural levels.
• Unlike commercial broadcasting, public broadcasting doesn't depend on ratings or advertising revenue, allowing production of high-quality programs. However, securing political independence and operational transparency are important challenges. Broadcasting 3 Laws amendments are institutional improvement measures to restore public broadcasting's original role.

🔎 Korea Communications Commission

• Korea Communications Commission is a government agency that regulates and supervises broadcasting and communications.
• Korea Communications Commission is a central administrative agency responsible for broadcasting and communications promotion and regulation, broadcast business licensing and approval, and broadcast content deliberation. It was established in 2008 by integrating the Broadcasting Committee and some functions of the Ministry of Information and Communication.
• Main functions of Korea Communications Commission include: First, broadcast business licensing and re-licensing and broadcast policy formulation. Second, deliberating fairness and public nature of broadcast programs. Third, promoting telecommunications market competition and user protection policies. Fourth, promoting broadcasting-communications convergence service activation policies.
• Currently, Korea Communications Commission consists of 5 members including 1 chairperson and 1 vice-chairperson, all appointed by the President. However, political bias controversies continue, so Broadcasting 3 Laws include reorganization plans to expand the committee to 7 members and achieve political balance between ruling and opposition parties.

🔎 Editorial Independence

• Editorial independence is the right of broadcasting stations to autonomously organize programs without external pressure.
• Editorial independence means the right of broadcasting stations to autonomously plan and schedule broadcast programs without external pressure or interference from political power, advertisers, or specific interest groups. This is a core element guaranteeing media freedom and freedom of expression.
• Main content of editorial independence includes: First, guaranteeing creative freedom in program planning and production. Second, enabling fair and independent reporting in news and current affairs programs. Third, pursuing balanced programming not biased toward specific political orientations or ideologies. Fourth, producing programs that reflect viewers' diverse needs and social values.
• If editorial independence is not properly guaranteed, broadcasting risks becoming a propaganda tool for specific forces. Especially for public broadcasting, freedom from political power influence is necessary to maintain public nature and fairness. Broadcasting 3 Laws amendments include measures to institutionally guarantee such editorial independence.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How will broadcasting actually change if Broadcasting 3 Laws pass?

A: If Broadcasting 3 Laws pass, fundamental changes will occur in public broadcasting operations. First, strengthened political independence will institutionally block attempts to control broadcasting during government changes. Government recommendation ratios in KBS and MBC boards will be reduced while civil society recommendations expand, reducing political bias. Second, broadcasting content fairness and diversity will improve. Editorial independence will be guaranteed, enabling balanced reporting and program production not swayed by political pressure or specific forces' influence. Third, decision-making process transparency will increase. Board operations and president selection processes will be publicized, citizen participation will expand, and people's right to know will be strengthened. Fourth, long-term recovery of public trust in public broadcasting is expected. However, time is needed for such changes to actually appear, and internal broadcasting station cultural changes and member awareness improvements must occur together.

Q: Isn't Broadcasting 3 Laws amendment being pushed for political purposes?

A: While political controversy exists around Broadcasting 3 Laws amendments, the essence of reform lies in recovering public broadcasting's political independence and public nature. Historically, Korea's public broadcasting has received political intervention whenever governments changed, and this is a structural problem that continued regardless of ruling or opposition parties. Just as KBS and MBC were politically used during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, public broadcasting's lack of independence is a fundamental threat to democracy. Broadcasting 3 Laws are institutional mechanisms to solve such problems - reform for all citizens' interests, not specific political forces' interests. What's important is whether reform content is fair and reasonable, and whether it actually contributes to strengthening broadcasting independence and public nature. Looking at overseas advanced countries' public broadcasting cases, independence from political power is a basic condition for public broadcasting, and institutional mechanisms guaranteeing this are essential. Therefore, discussions should focus on reform's original purpose of normalizing public broadcasting rather than political controversy.