Backlash is mounting over potential restrictions on press freedom and free expression after the Nationwide Meeting, led by the ruling Democratic Occasion of Korea, handed a contentious invoice towards “faux information.”
Journalists and media labor unions have voiced robust opposition to the laws, whereas media students warned that the invoice might weaken the press’s means to carry these in energy accountable. Some consultants additionally famous long-standing reporting practices which have contributed to public mistrust.
The revised Data and Communications Community Act defines false or fabricated info and prohibits its circulation throughout telecommunications networks. It additionally permits for punitive damages of as much as 5 instances the assessed losses to be imposed on media shops and YouTubers discovered to have intentionally unfold disinformation for illicit achieve, leading to hurt to others.
The laws has been contentious since its proposal and issues have intensified throughout the media after its passage.
5 media organizations, together with the Journalists Affiliation of Korea and the Nationwide Union of Media Staff, issued a joint assertion instantly after the invoice cleared the Nationwide Meeting on Wednesday.
It warned that regulating false or fabricated info by legislation would inevitably constrain freedom of expression and that the introduction of punitive damages might invite extreme lawsuits by these in energy, eroding press freedom.
The revised Data and Communications Community Act is handed throughout a plenary session of the Nationwide Meeting in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
Specialists say one of many legislation’s most problematic features is the anomaly over who will determine what constitutes faux information.
“Inclusion of provisions banning the circulation of such content material might open the door for administrative our bodies — such because the Korea Communications Requirements Fee — to make these judgments,” mentioned Kim Dong-chan, chair of the coverage committee on the Individuals’s Coalition for Media Reform.
He added that platform operators, aiming to keep away from regulatory scrutiny, may self-censor, blocking or eradicating their very own content material preemptively.
Whereas lawmakers argue that the legislation consists of strict standards — corresponding to intent to trigger hurt or to achieve unjust earnings — to stop arbitrary interpretation, critics warn that safeguards are unlikely to work as meant in actuality.
In the end, critics say determinations that ought to be made by way of judicial overview danger being shifted to different actors who’re neither outfitted nor approved to make such judgments.
Issues have additionally been raised that the laws might undermine the media’s means to scrutinize these in energy.
Choi Ji-hyang, a professor of communication and media at Ewha Womans College, warned that the legislation might weaken journalism’s watchdog operate.
“Whereas reality stays the last word worth journalism seeks to pursue, reporting can hardly ever depend on full info at any single second,” she mentioned.
“Journalism’s duty is to report the absolute best reality based mostly on the data obtainable on the time of reporting.”
Choi additionally famous that the legislation doesn’t exclude politicians, senior public officers or main companies from these eligible to hunt punitive damages — a key demand lengthy raised by each tutorial and media communities.
Even up to now, highly effective figures have routinely used so-called strategic lawsuits to discourage essential reporting.
In keeping with a 2025 survey of journalists performed by the Korea Press Basis, 32.5 % of journalists who reported experiencing harrassment had additionally been focused by what they described as malicious lawsuits or legal complaints.
Such issues are heightened by the truth that Korea lacks efficient safeguards towards malicious lawsuits focusing on the media.
Lee Jae-kyung, an honorary professor at Ewha Womans College and director of the Yoonseyoung Journalism College, contrasted Korea’s authorized atmosphere with that of america. In contrast to in Korea, he famous, plaintiffs suing the media within the U.S. bear the burden of proving fault on the a part of journalists or information organizations — an ordinary that helps deter abusive litigation.
“Korea lacks comparable authorized or institutional mechanisms, leaving the press extra uncovered to abusive lawsuits,” Lee mentioned.
In the meantime, Lee added that the controversy surrounding the anti-fake information invoice has been formed by broader public skepticism towards the media and by longstanding reporting practices which have drawn criticism over fact-checking.
“It’s true that Korean media have, at instances, relied on the apply of merely relaying who mentioned what with out ample verification or context, which might contribute to the unfold of falsehoods or misinformation,” he mentioned.
Lee confused that whereas it’s misguided to control such points by way of laws in a fast and punitive method, the controversy also needs to immediate deeper reflection on entrenched practices inside Korean journalism and the necessity for structural enhancements to strengthen its credibility.
