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Regarding the punitive damages compensation system for the media announced by the government, three media organizations, including the Korea Journalists Association, the Association of Newspaper Publishers and the Association of Newspapers, defined it as a law. evil that violates freedom of expression and the right of the people to know, and demanded its total elimination. .
These three organizations representing the media community announced on the 28th in a statement that the Ministry of Justice must immediately stop the system of punitive damages that violates press freedom: “The government’s action is a direct challenge to the democracy that is shaking Press freedom”. He said: “If we arbitrarily apply the punitive damages system against the media without social consensus or justification, we will use all means to actively stop it.” In particular, he said, “The punitive damage compensation system is a perverse law that essentially violates the fundamental rights of the Constitution, freedom of the press and the right to know people,” he said. “I urge you to stop introducing and reforming the law immediately.”
On this day, the Ministry of Justice announced the legislation of the enactment of the Collective Demand Law and the modification of the Commercial Law to introduce a system of compensation for punitive damages that maintains up to five times the responsibility for damages reported by the media. Communication. Immediately after the opening of the XXI National Assembly, members of the ruling party tried to introduce this system by revising the Media Arbitration Law, etc., and this time, they tried to enforce the introduction again through government legislation. The main content of the bill is to expand the class action system, which has been applied to securities litigation, such as false disclosure of stock price manipulation, to all industries. Consequently, it has become possible to bring a class action lawsuit against the media, and when it is recognized that the damage has been caused by malicious misinformation, such as fake news, the company will be liable for compensation of up to five times the amount.
In response, the third group of media said in a statement: ″ It is hard to believe that it is the idea of the democratic state government to impose punitive punishment on the media according to the vague standard of ‘malicious fake news’. After defining it as a means of media repression, it is very likely that it will be abused ”. In particular, “the punitive damage compensation system is an adequate system to correct when a number of the weak are damaged by the stronger in society. The system of compensation for punitive damages is operated with extreme caution due to the violation of freedom of the press, etc. “, He said.” In democratic countries, regulatory laws, especially those that violate freedom of the press, the foundation of our society, must be approached with great care. I do ”he emphasized.
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The Ministry of Justice must immediately stop the punitive damages system that threatens press freedom.
On September 28, the Ministry of Justice announced the enactment of the Collective Lawsuit Law and the amendment of the Commercial Law to introduce a punitive damages compensation system that maintains up to five times the liability for damages caused by reports of the media.
The three media organizations, such as the Korea Newspaper Association, the Korea Newspaper Publishers Association, and the Korea Journalists Association, strongly condemned the legislation defining it as an evil law that essentially violates the fundamental rights of the Constitution, the freedom of the press and the right to know. I urge you to stop immediately.
The punitive damage compensation system is a suitable system to correct when a large number of the weak are harmed by the strong in society. Current product liability law requires products that harm people’s health, such as disinfectant humidifiers and radon beds, to be liable for up to three times the amount of victim protection and prevention damages.
It is a risky idea to hold the media responsible for the product, in which power oversight is its natural role. In the United States, the system of punitive damages against the media is operated in a very limited way due to the violation of press freedom. This is due to problems such as over-regulation and unconstitutional possession of the media oversight function and people’s right to know.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly has tried to introduce punitive compensation systems for damages to the media on several occasions. However, it was canceled on the grounds that the side effects and damage to our society were greater due to the shrinkage of the media rather than legal interests. As soon as the 21st National Assembly was opened, the ruling party legislators tried to introduce this system by revising the Media Arbitration Law, etc., and the three media organizations urged that the proposal be abolished immediately. However, the three media organizations can hardly understand that the current government intends to enforce this system through government legislation this time.
In particular, it is hard to believe that it is the idea of democratic government to impose punitive punishment on the media with the vague standard of “malicious fake news.” It is very likely that several judges will use it as a means of suppression from the media after defining articles that are unfavorable to them or critical reports as malicious reports. Is the current government planning to carry out a preliminary media censorship with a huge ruling party behind its back?
It is not that the media is not responsible for false reports. Media companies have their own independent committees or viewer committees and are conducting self-help activities to prevent the harm caused by misinformation. However, if there is dissatisfaction, the media arbitration committee or the Korea Communications Standards Commission may request political information and counter-reports, and a lawsuit against the media, etc.
However, if the government applies a punitive damage compensation system to the media under the guise of product liability, instead of the extermination effect of malicious reporting, it will cause the right of people to know to be violated due to the contraction of media activities. In democratic countries, regulatory laws, particularly those that violate freedom of the press, the foundation of our society, must be approached with great care.
All three media outlets define the government’s action as a head-on challenge to democracy that shakes press freedom and urges once again to abolish it completely. The three media organizations make it clear that if the government arbitrarily applies a punitive compensation system for damages to the media without social consensus or justification, it will use all means to actively stop it.
September 28, 2020
Korea Newspaper Association Korea Newspaper Broadcasting Publishers Association Korea Journalists Association
