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UNI Global Union today issued a statement calling on the National Assembly of Korea to review the recently adopted controversial media law. The National Union of Media Workers, NUMW and opposition Democratic Party have opposed the legislation, which is backed by the conservative ruling party, the Grand National Party.



UNI and its media sector UNI MEI have backed NUMW’s campaign against the law in recent months. In July, NUMW and UNI expressed their concern that the law was adopted without following proper procedures and appealed to Constitutional Court.



In its recent ruling the Constitutional Court of Korea pointed at procedural irregularities such as illegal proxy voting. The General Secretary of the Constitutional Court yesterday stated that the bill should be tabled again in the National Assembly.



These developments occur just days after NUMW held protests against the new media law and NUMW’ s President Choi Sang-Je went on hunger strike in front of the Press Centre to call for the law to be properly discussed in the National Assembly. Brother Choi who was arrested last week has been released in the meantime and ended his hunger strike. The union is continuing its protests and calls on the Assembly to re-open the debate on the controversial law.



Beyond the procedural irregularities UNI shares the concerns of its Korean affiliate that the new law poses a serious threat to democracy by removing vital restrictions to media ownership. UNI believes that concentrated ownership creates an atmosphere that makes it extremely difficult for the media industry to maintain a plurality of voices and views and to fulfil its public service as an independent watchdog, UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings said in his letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly.



UNI and NUMW are asking affiliates to send solidarity letters to send a letter to Mr. Kim Hyung-O, Speaker of the National Assembly, Republic of Korea calling on him to revise the new media law.



Support our Korean colleagues! Sign the petition!



http://www.uniglobalunion.org/uniindep.nsf/ProtestKorea?OpenForm





Click "related files" read and download the letter of UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings to the Speaker of the National Assembly and the UNI MEI statement .