SEOUL– The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) said Thursday it will mount a filibuster to block a controversial media bill, which it said would suppress press freedom and gag critical media.
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) plans to pass the proposed revision to the press arbitration act during a parliamentary plenary session Monday despite resistance from opposition parties and media organizations.
The bill, aimed at curbing fake news, would allow the court to order punitive damages of up to five times the actual damages caused by deliberately false reports.
“We will apply for a filibuster to block the passage of the bill,” Kim Gi-hyeon, floor leader of the PPP, said during a meeting of the party supreme council.
“The bill violates the freedom of the press, controls and censors the media, and essentially infringes on the people’s right to know.”
The party also plans to file a suit with the Constitutional Court against the DP’s unilateral passage of the bill early Wednesday through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
If the proposal is finally approved at the National Assembly, the party will support a petition expected to be filed against the legislation with the Constitutional Court, party officials said.
The DP, with an absolute majority, had planned to pass the media act revision and other pending bills at the plenary session scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. But the floor leaders of the two parties agreed in the last minute to postpone the session to Monday.
Source: Yonhap News Agency