Assembly speaker to call vote on disputed media reform bill

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly speaker said Wednesday that a disputed media reform bill will be put to a vote within the day, after the ruling party announced negotiations with the opposition had failed.

The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) declared that negotiations on the
government-backed bill had collapsed and asked the National Assembly speaker to
use his authority to immediately call a vote.
The unilateral move followed seven-hours of marathon talks Tuesday between GNP
floor leader Ahn Sang-soo and his counterpart from the main opposition Democratic
Party (DP), Lee Kang-rae, which ended without a compromise.
"The negotiations have failed," Ahn said at a party meeting, telling GNP
legislators to secure a path for Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o to reach his seat
at the main Assembly hall.
About 100 GNP lawmakers quickly formed a human barricade around the speaker's
podium. Dozens of ruling and opposition lawmakers had occupied the Assembly hall
for the past week to block the rival party from seizing the speaker's podium.
The GNP controls 169 seats in the 299-seat parliament, enough to unilaterally
pass the bill. The current session, which opened late last month, ends on
Saturday.
"The ruling and opposition parties had earlier agreed to act on the media law
(revision) during the current extraordinary Assembly session," said Kim, a former
GNP legislator.
"As the Assembly speaker, I have no choice but to call a vote on an issue as
demanded by the majority of the Assembly," Kim said. "This is the way to defend
the majority rule, which is the founding idea of the parliament."
The speaker said he is aware he will be publicly rebuked for his decision.
"I only feel regret that it has come to the Assembly speaker using his authority
while the legislature is paralyzed due to the inability of the political parties
to resolve the issue," he said.
The proposed revision seeks to allow ownership of broadcasting companies by
newspapers and private businesses, a measure the government claims will help
create tens of thousands of jobs and significantly improve the competitiveness of
the country's media industry.
The main opposition party says it will undermine the independence and diversity
of news outlets, as only a handful of newspapers have the financial resources to
launch broadcasting services. Critics also say the revision is a government
attempt to control the media.