Yoon again vetoes contentious broadcasting bills

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday approved a Cabinet motion demanding parliamentary reconsideration of four broadcasting bills, exercising veto power again against the legislation that the government says infringes upon the president’s rights to appointments.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) led the unilateral passage of the bills through the National Assembly earlier this month in a move seen as aimed at reducing the government’s clout over public broadcasters.

The presidential office said Yoon’s veto was an “unavoidable action” in response to the opposition’s unilateral passage of the bills that could bring fundamental changes to the governance structure and systems of public broadcasters.

“The National Assembly should work together to build a social consensus on ensuring broadcasters serve as a fair and objective tools for society,” the office said in a release.

In order to override Yoon’s veto, the Assembly must pass the bills again with two-thirds support. As the ruling People Power Party holds just a little more than one-third of the Assembly seats, the bills are expected to be ultimately scrapped.

Three of the bills call for amending the Broadcasting Act, the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act to increase the number of board directors at public broadcasters KBS, MBC and EBS, respectively.

The previous Assembly passed the bills, but they were scrapped after Yoon’s veto.

The fourth bill calls for changing the rules governing the decision-making body at the Korea Communications Commission, the state broadcasting regulator.

The DP has argued the bills will ensure the government cannot exercise its influence over broadcast media, while the ruling People Power Party has countered the bills are simply meant to increase the presence of pro-opposition figures on the boards of public broadcasters.