By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The chairman of a National Assembly committee invoked his right to table disputed media industry-related bills Wednesday, overturning his promise to give parties one more day to deliberate.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which has objected to the passage of bills on cross-media ownership, claimed that the introduction of the bills was ``invalid.''
``I decided to invoke my authority to advance the bills to the main floor, as it seemed impossible for the parties to narrow differences,'' said Ko Heung-kil, chairman of the committee on culture, sports, tourism and communication.
Just minutes prior to this he had said he would not unilaterally table the bills, expressing the hope that the DP and the governing Grand National Party (GNP) would continue negotiations.
The parties had already failed to meet an agreed deadline of Feb. 23 to advance the bills to the main floor.
An Assembly plenary session is scheduled for Feb. 27 to act on the bills.
The two parties have clashed over the media industry-related bills that seek to lift a ban on cross-media ownership.
Under the ruling party-supported bills, conglomerates, print media and news agencies would be able to hold up to a 20 percent stake in broadcasters.
Newspapers and news agencies would be allowed to have a 49 percent stake in cable news networks ― up from the current 33 percent.
The bills also seek give the Korea Communications Commission more power to punish broadcasters if they break broadcasting regulations.
The bills would give foreign investors the opportunity to join the management of IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) firms.
The GNP claimed the measures are necessary to strengthen the competitiveness of the local media industry pursuant to globalization and encouraging the media to produce better content for viewers.
It also insisted that cross-media ownership would help the nation overcome the economic downturn by creating 21,500 new jobs and generating production value worth three trillion won (nearly $2 billion).
Conversely, the DP expressed concerns that the proposed bills could allow conglomerates and conservative print media to control broadcasting networks, leading to state influence in broadcasting, it said.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo visited DP Chairman Chung Sye-kyun to call for help in approving pending bills, including the government's economic rescue plan.
However, the opposition leader responded to the request cynically, saying, ``The government and the ruling party should apologize first'' for their previous unilateral action.
The Assembly suffered an unheard-of melee last December between the two rival parties when some GNP members unilaterally introduced the approval of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States. After a physical struggle and vandalism at the Assembly, DP members staged a sit-in for more than 20 days inside the Assembly's main chamber in a bid to stop the ruling camp from unilaterally tabling disputed bills.