Nat'l Assembly, led by DPK, passes contentious broadcasting bill

The National Assembly on Thursday passed one of three controversial broadcasting bills aimed at reducing the government's influence over public broadcasters, with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) railroading the bill despite objection from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). During a parliamentary plenary session, the amendment to the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act passed with 169 lawmakers in favor and one against, out of 171 lawmakers. PPP lawmakers boycotted the vote in protest of the bill. The legislation is one of three contentious broadcasting bills pushed by the DPK 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. Under the bill, the number of board members of the Foundation for Broadcast Culture, a major shareholder of public broadcaster MBC, will be expanded from nine to 13. The DPK and the conservative PPP have clashed over the legislation, with the PPP arguing that the bills willWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times