Constitutional Court says media reform bills valid despite procedural violations

SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that disputed media reform laws railroaded by the ruling party are valid, despite violations in the voting process.

The reform package -- which consists of three separate laws governing newspapers,
broadcasting and Internet TV -- were passed by the majority-wielding Grand
National Party (GNP) while opposition parties boycotted.
The reform bills eliminate ownership restrictions in the media industry, allowing
for the first time in 29 years the cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcasting
stations. President Lee Myung-bak and the GNP have said the deregulation measures
will improve the industry's overall competitiveness and help create tens of
thousands of new jobs.
Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office, said it will "respect the decision of the
Constitutional Court."
During a heated parliamentary session in July, some 150 ruling party lawmakers
cast their votes on the laws and passed them by a majority in the 299-seat
National Assembly. The passage was immediately refuted by the main opposition
Democratic Party (DP), which claimed that many of the votes were cast not by
legislators but by their aides or colleagues during a violent clash between the
rival parties.
The broadcasting law was put to a revote by a vice National Assembly speaker when
the first vote failed to meet the quorum, a violation of the assembly procedure,
the DP said.
The DP filed a petition with the Constitutional Court asking to nullify the media
laws, citing procedural violations.
The nine-member Constitutional Court agreed with the DP's claim of the
violations, acknowledging there were proxy votes and that an immediate revote on
a single legislation is against the Assembly's rules, but concluded the laws'
passage is still valid.
brk@yna.co.kr