Jeong Cheong-rae, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, ‘Opponents of the Media Punishment Act, Producers of Fake News’ Fascism in Action
Chairman Chung Cheong-rae of the Judiciary Committee singled out opponents as producers of fake news in the 'triple punishment law for the press' and defined them as 'pursuing unfair profits', thereby establishing a fascistic system of 'abuse of investigative power in repeatedly verifying the article's author' and 'isolating opponents from society'. It started working.
On the 7th, Chairman Chung said to a group of journalists who opposed the triple punishment law, "Stop writing fake news! Then there is no need to feel uncomfortable about the punitive damages bill and there is no reason to oppose it."
Rep. Jeong, a close associate of Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myeong, proposed this law while appointed as chairman of the Legislative and Judiciary Committee, saying, "This law applies to cases where an article is maliciously written even after knowing in advance that it is fake news. If it is used without knowing the facts accurately, “There is a way to avoid this. If there is no public interest, reasonableness, or malice, compensation liability can be waived,” he said, ensuring that the prosecution distinguishes between ‘articles written with knowledge’ and ‘articles written without knowledge.’ By ensuring that reporters are free from reporting, which is the core of press freedom, Infringed upon its own territory.
Chairman Chung said on social media, "There is no reason to oppose this law if fake news is not maliciously written. Do the media opposing this law continue to produce fake news even though they know it is not true?" and said, "Is it true that the media opposing this law will continue to produce fake news even though they know it is not true?" ' In response to the demand, it was defined that 'producers of fake news are opponents.'
The Journalists Association of Korea, the Broadcasting Journalists Association, the Korea Video Journalists Association, and the National Union of Media Workers issued a joint statement on the 3rd saying, "Most critical reports, regardless of whether they are progressive or conservative, including MBC's 'Biden-Flying' report and reports on First Lady Kim Kun-hee, will be punished." He officially announced his opposition to Rep. Chung's 'Punitive Act', saying, "We will be weighed down by blockade lawsuits using the compensation system," and "Give up the push for punitive damages, which will give wings to the oppression of the media by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration."
Representative Jeong continued, "This law is the people's media damage relief law," and "The media that continues to oppose the law may be misunderstood as rebellion and resistance that will continue to produce fake news. Instead of working to oppose the law, we pledge to eradicate fake news." “Shouldn’t the media be the media?” he said, attacking opposing media groups.
Rep. Jeong previously posted on Facebook on the 1st, "Currently, the punitive damages system is already being implemented in about 20 areas of legislation. There are various punitive damages systems ranging from abuse of power by large corporations, personal information, squeezing of subcontractors, and special laws on serious accidents. “is being implemented,” he said, adding, “Punitive exclusion of damages is being implemented in over 20 laws and fields, so why should only the media be left out?” He applied the punishment for commercial companies’ pursuit of unfair profits to journalists and media companies.
Representative Jeong proposed an amendment to the Press Arbitration Act to introduce a punitive damages system on the first day of opening on the 31st of last month.
The core of the revised law is to require media companies to compensate up to three times the amount of damage in cases where 'personal rights are violated through malicious reporting', and that corrections and counter-arguments are to be published on the same page and in the same amount as the original report, thereby preventing the media from using fake news. defined as 'pursuit of unfair profits'.
Representative Jeong said on the 1st, “Even if a misleading report is published on the front page, a corrective report is published in a corner of the paper that cannot be seen. “I’m saying don’t do this,” he said. “I give brief advice to the media. “If you don’t use fake news, there is no need to be uncomfortable with the punitive damages bill and there is no reason to oppose it,” he said.
Legal remedies for misinformation include civil lawsuits for damages, claims for correction of information, and criminal punishment for defamation, and the Press Arbitration Act provides detailed adjustments to the ‘font size of the title, content, and text’ for corrections and counter-reports regarding misinformation at the Arbitration Commission.
If a person's reputation is defamed by stating false facts, the crime of defamation by spreading false facts is applied under Article 307, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Act. If the person's reputation is damaged by the spread of false facts, it constitutes a tort and a person can claim compensation for damages. can
Freedom of speech is the freedom to express one's thoughts or opinions, and the freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association under Article 21 of the Constitution fall under freedom of expression.
Freedom of expression, an absolute freedom for which restrictive laws are strictly prohibited by the U.S. Constitution, is a fundamental right at the core of liberal democracy, and is therefore completely separate from corporate pursuit of commercial profit. Treating freedom of speech as equal to corporate unfair profit is against the law. It is a fascistic system that buries opposing journalists by isolating them from society as 'dissenters are producers of fake news.'
Wikipedia defines <freedom of expression, freedom of opinion> as <the basic right of an individual or group to freely express one's opinions and thoughts> and that <democracy does not suppress freedom of expression. It was stated that “in principle, any censorship or punishment is prohibited.”
The system to strengthen media punitive damages strengthens the control of the three media entities in reporting, editing, and reporting, and gives media owners the right to claim up to three times punitive damages for false or fabricated reports and guarantees blocking the viewing of corrected reports and other articles. made absolute.
As reporters' articles are converted into material goods through the punitive damages law, trafficking between media owners and conglomerates is intensifying, and the key to ensuring 'collusion of authorities' is the strengthening of media owners' control over editing rights and reporting rights, which are the core of press freedom. am.
Representative Chung, who was the secretary of the National Assembly at the time of the key authority under the Moon Jae-in regime, restored the Chun Doo-hwan regime of media-owner tyranny through the 5x punitive damages law for articles.
On August 19, 2021, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee passed the 'Partial Amendment to the Act on Press Arbitration and Damage Relief, etc.' with 9 in favor out of 16 in total, with former Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-hwan, a key member of the pro-Moon authority, serving as chairman and a reporter for the Hankyoreh. Uri Party lawmaker Kim Eui-gyeom, who became President Moon's spokesperson, passed the bill with a quorum as the opposition party.
Refer to <Restoration of Chun Doo-hwan regime through media punitive damages law under Moon Jae-in regime, August 21, 2021>