South Korea: Ruling, main opposition parties gear for clash over contentious broadcasting bill

Seoul, Aug 21 (IANS) South Korea's ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) were girding for a clash on Thursday as the DP plans to unilaterally propose one of three controversial broadcasting bills aimed at reducing the government's influence over public broadcasters.

The bill is one of three contentious broadcasting bills pushed by the DP that would eventually alter the governance structure of the three public broadcasters -- KBS, MBC and EBS -- by significantly increasing the number of their board directors and granting media and broadcasting associations.

The amendment to the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act seeks to expand the number of board members of the Foundation for Broadcast Culture, a major shareholder of public broadcaster MBC, from nine to 13.

The DP and the conservative PPP have clashed over the legislation, with the PPP arguing that the bills will only increase the presence of progressive figures on the boards of public broadcasters.

The bill was automatically shelved when the July extraordinary session ended at midnight on August 5 after the PPP launched a filibuster to block its passage, reports Yonhap news agency.

The PPP has warned that it will stage another filibuster at Thursday's plenary session.

Once the bill is passed, the DP, which currently holds a parliamentary majority with 167 out of 298 seats, plans to present the remaining broadcasting bill, along with the so-called yellow envelope bill, which seeks to broaden labour protections, and a revision to the Commercial Act.

The DP-controlled National Assembly has already passed an amendment to the Broadcasting Act, the first of the three broadcasting bills, earlier this month.

A filibuster involves lawmakers holding the floor for extended periods as a way to prevent a parliamentary vote or delay the passage of a bill. Under the National Assembly Act, a filibuster can be stopped after 24 hours if at least three-fifths of all parliament members, or 180 lawmakers, consent to it.

--IANS

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