(2nd LD) Constitutional Court says media reform bills valid despite procedural violations

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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.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) argued that the reform drive will lead
to monopolization of the media by big conglomerates and a select few well-funded
conservative dailies who are now allowed to own stakes in broadcasting companies.
It also accused the Lee administration of trying to gain control of the country's
major news outlets through the laws.
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 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 breaches.
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.
"Some unauthorized people and proxies were confirmed to have participated in the
vote, and they are highly likely to have affected the result," the court said in
a ruling. It also confirmed that if the quorum is not met, an introduced bill is
regarded as thrown out.
But the Constitutional Court deals with only legal issues, the ruling said, and
it is the National Assembly's responsibility to determine whether to keep the
laws as passed or open new proceedings for revision.
The GNP welcomed the results and urged opposition parties to honor them.
"Opposition parties should stop making offensives on other political issues and
cooperate with follow-up measures on the media laws," said GNP spokesperson Cho
Hae-jin.
The DP, freshly empowered after winning three out of five seats in parliamentary
by-elections on Wednesday, said it will go on a renewed struggle against the
ruling party to have the media laws repealed together with other controversial
proposals, including the building of a new administrative town and a construction
project involving the country's four major rivers.
"It is unacceptable that the laws passed under procedural violations are valid,"
said Woo Yoon-keun, the DP's deputy floor leader. "The parliament should start
negotiations for new media laws as the existing ones have serious procedural
flaws."
brk@yna.co.kr
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