Broadcasters escalate protest against media reforms

SEOUL, March 1 (Yonhap) -- Hundreds of journalists and producers at four large
television networks will go on a 2-day strike this week to protest President Lee
Myung-bak's sweeping media reforms, the media workers' union said Sunday.
Since he took office a year ago, President Lee has been at odds with local
television stations which accuse him of attempting to tame and control the media
by allowing right-leaning newspaper firms to own a stake in broadcasters. Lee's
party unilaterally introduced the controversial bills to the parliament last
Wednesday.
Workers at MBC and CBS are already on a partial strike that began last week, and
the country's largest public broadcaster KBS and 24-hour cable news channel YTN
will be joining them beginning Monday, the National Union of Media Workers said
in a press release.
"More broadcasters will be deciding their future course of action according to
the circumstances at the National Assembly," the union said. "The government
should be prepared for an all-out war with media workers if the media reform
bills are taken to a full-house parliamentary vote."
Leaders from Lee's Grand National Party (GNP) and the main opposition Democratic
Party held lengthy discussions Sunday over the settlement of media reform and
economy related bills, but failed to produce a significant outcome.
SBS and several other broadcasters said they will decide whether or not to join
the strike after observing the outcome of the bipartisan discussions.
Media reforms have been a source of heated debate here as broadcasters and
progressive activists oppose the plan under which large firms and major
newspapers would be allowed to own television networks.
The current law, established in the 1980s, prohibits cross-ownership of print
media and television stations to prevent monopolies in the media industry.
President Lee, a former CEO and strong proponent of market principles, has been
seeking to amend the laws since his inauguration to spur competition between
media outlets and bolster the sectors he believes are falling behind in global
trends.
Dissenters call the plan "pro-conglomerate" because only three right-leaning
vernacular newspapers -- who already control nearly 70 percent of print media
circulation -- are said to have enough resources to enter the television
industry.
Broadcasters claim the president "handpicked" the chiefs of YTN and KBS last
summer as initial steps in his ultimate plan to privatize state-run television
channels and back market-dominating newspaper companies.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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