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Opposition lawmakers leave a plenary session of the National Assembly in Seoul on Monday, as Rep. Kim Yong-tae of the ruling People Power Party begins to filibuster to block the passage of a revision to a broadcasting law. (Yonhap) |
The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed one of the four contentious broadcasting bills aimed at reducing the government's influence over public broadcasters Monday, with lawmakers of the ruling party walking out in protest.
The main opposition Democratic Party led the bill's passage in a 187-0 vote after passing a motion to forcefully end a filibuster by the ruling People Power Party (PPP).
The revision to the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act aims to increase the number of board directors at public broadcaster MBC from the current nine to 21.
The three other bills led by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which also include amendments to the Broadcasting Act and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act, are intended to reform the governance structure of the nation's public broadcast media by weakening the government and National Assembly's power to name board directors.
The PPP has claimed that the broadcasting bills will only increase the presence of progressive figures on the boards of public broadcasters, while the DP has said they will prevent political influence in the appointment of the heads of public broadcasters.
The PPP has been staging a series of filibusters, lasting up to nearly 31 hours, to block the passage of four contentious broadcasting bills.
The National Assembly on Friday passed a revision to the act on the establishment of the Korea Communications Commission that calls for increasing the number of standing members required to pass a resolution from the current two to four.
On Monday, Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik put forth the last remaining bill -- the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act -- which will likely be put up for a vote Tuesday after the PPP's filibuster ends.
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.
Last year, President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed the three broadcasting bills, excluding the revision to the act on the establishment of the Korea Communications Commission, after they were passed by the opposition-controlled parliament. (Yonhap)
