Media Bills Railroaded Amid Scuffle

Female lawmakers from the governing and opposition parties scuffle Wednesday during a National Assembly session convened to vote on three controversial media bills. The bills were passed by a quorum of lawmakers from the ruling Grand National Party. / Korea Times Broadcasting Bill Passage Controversial As Voting Was Made Twice By Kang Hyun-kyung Staff Reporter Three controversial media bills were railroaded Wednesday, paving the way for conservative dailies and chaebol to take a controlling interest in broadcasting and cable news networks. The vote was made amid violent physical clashes between lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and opposition parties. Immediately after the passage of the bills, Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Chung Sye-kyun, floor leader Lee Kang-rae and Rep. Choi Moon-soon said they will tender their resignations. They said the passage of the bills was invalid as the procedures went against the National Assembly Law. Vice speaker Lee Yoon-sung, who chaired the proceedings, held two votes on the broadcasting bill. Under the law, a vote on a single bill can be held only once. Claiming that many of the ballots were cast not by the lawmakers but their aides, the DP said it will file for a court injunction to nullify the vote. The Assembly main chamber was turned into a battleground, as brawls and yelling turned into scuffles and violence as Lee, instead of Speaker Kim Hyong-o, took the podium to present the bills. One hundred and fifty GNP lawmakers voted for the measures. The quorum needed for passage of the bills was 148, given that there are 294 sitting lawmakers. The DP tried in vain to block the voting. The conservative GNP claim the bills will promote competition in the media industry, whereas the liberal DP has labeled the measures a plot to control the media. The opposition party insists that they will only benefit major conservative newspapers. Under the approved bills, newspapers and chaebol are now allowed to own 10- and 30-percent stakes in national television and cable news networks, respectively. But newspapers that have a circulation taking up 20 percent of the total market will be banned from investing in the businesses. Several people, including Reps. Kim Young-jin of the DP and Kwak Jung-sook of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), were rushed to hospital due to injuries suffered during the scuffles. The clash began a couple of hours after Speaker Kim announced he would invoke his right to table the disputed bills at a plenary session. Speaker Kim couldn't preside over the votes because he was unable to enter the chamber due to a barricade set up by DP lawmakers and their aides. In a statement read by his chief of staff, Kim said he had waited long enough to see a bipartisan agreement on the measures and that now was the time to make a decision, as the GNP and the DP showed little sign of compromise. The announcement came about an hour after GNP floor leader Ahn Sang-soo declared an end to inter-party talks. "Given the results of previous meetings, I don't think we need to have more talks on the bills," Ahn said. Before the vote took place, about 120 aides and dozens of DP lawmakers barricaded the entrance to the main chamber to block access to GNP lawmakers. About 120 ruling lawmakers were already inside before the scuffles occurred, but the number didn't meet the quorum needed for the passage of the bills. Clashes came as GNP legislators and aides tried to enter and their DP counterparts blocked their attempts. Vice speaker Lee and about 30 GNP lawmakers entered later, and voting took place as soon as the quorum was reached. DP lawmakers who were inside the chamber greeted the vote with loud criticism, yelling and swearing. hkang@koreatimes.co.kr