Ruling party lawmakers stage a walkout as Representative Kim Jang-kyum of the People Power Party begins a filibuster (a legal obstruction of parliamentary proceedings through unlimited debate) against the amendment to the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act during the National Assembly plenary session on the 5th. Yonhap News

On the 5th, the People Power Party staged a filibuster—a legal method of obstructing parliamentary proceedings through unlimited debate—to oppose the amendment to the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act (the "Bangmunjin Act"), the second of the so-called "three broadcast laws."

The opposition began after the Broadcast Act amendment was passed under the leadership of the ruling party following a 24-hour filibuster that concluded the previous day, and the Bangmunjin Act amendment was subsequently brought to the floor.

The People Power Party criticized the amendment, labeling it a "permanent broadcast takeover law" and a "subcontracting law for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)," arguing that its true purpose is to place progressive, pro-ruling party figures on the boards of public broadcasters.

Representative Kim Jang-kyum, who participated in the debate, argued, "Depriving the appointing authority of their right to choose is an unprecedented and unconstitutional provision, not only globally but also within the current legal framework of the Republic of Korea's Constitution."

Representative Kim, a former president of MBC, emphasized, "This is a law that exposes the hypocrisy and true colors of certain camps and scholars," adding, "It makes fair director appointments fundamentally impossible by increasing the influence of groups biased toward specific ideologies."

Representative Kim stated, "If a company without an owner is left to its own devices, the labor union eventually becomes the owner and the master," and added, "I do not think labor unions are inherently bad, but when a union engages in political activities, I do not consider that a labor union."

He further claimed, "The only calculation hidden here is how the KCTU media union can secure a majority of the director recommendation rights to seize control of public broadcasting," and alleged that "its political ideology is very close to a pro-North Korea stance."

During this process, when Representative Kim questioned the history of Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo regarding his involvement with the KCTU, Democratic Party lawmakers strongly protested, saying, "Do not make remarks unrelated to the Broadcast Act."

Representative Kim also mentioned the alleged "nominee stock trading" involving Lee Chun-suk, the chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which led to shouting matches between the ruling and opposition lawmakers.

The Democratic Party argued that the amendment to the Bangmunjin Act would normalize public broadcasting.

Representative Han Min-soo of the Democratic Party, who proposed the bill, introduced it by stating, "This amendment expands the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Broadcast Culture by reflecting representation from various fields and makes the method of electing the MBC president more democratic and transparent."

He continued, "The dream of President Lee Jae-myung, the government of popular sovereignty, and the Democratic Party to return public broadcasting to the people has finally begun."

Representative Han also urged support for the Bangmunjin Act by mentioning the late reporter Lee Yong-ma, who passed away while battling peritoneal cancer after being fired for leading past strikes at MBC.

Democratic Party Representative Choi Min-hee, chair of the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, wrote on Facebook that day, "The Broadcast Act has been passed, with President Lee Jae-myung boldly relinquishing his authority by stating he 'will no longer intervene in the appointment of public broadcast presidents'," and emphasized that "the passage of the Broadcast Act is not the end, but the beginning."

Democratic Party lawmakers also criticized the fact that Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Joo Ho-young of the People Power Party did not preside over the filibuster for the Broadcast Act and the Bangmunjin Act, stating during the debate, "There is a person who requests the filibuster and a separate person who presides over it. I think there is a problem with that."

The main provision of the Bangmunjin Act amendment is to increase the number of directors on the Foundation for Broadcast Culture from the current nine to 13.

On this day, Representative Kim conducted his opposition debate for about seven hours, and the filibuster ended at midnight without further debate. As the July extraordinary session of the National Assembly concluded at midnight that night, the debate procedure was automatically terminated.

Accordingly, the amendment to the Bangmunjin Act is expected to be handled in the plenary session of the August extraordinary National Assembly.

Yonhap News