< Debate on the Public Responsibilities of Public Broadcasters and the Contract System for Public Broadcasters>

ㅇ Date: May 18, 2022 (Wed), 15:00 ~ 17:30

ㅇ Venue: Seoul Korea Broadcaster Center, 3rd FL, Press Conference Room, KISDI YouTube Live Broadcast

ㅇ Organizer: Korea Communications Commission, KISDI

Key presentation topics

▲ The significance of and key issues surrounding the adoption of a contracting system for public broadcasters (Executive Director Sung Wook-jei, KISDI)

▲ The adoption of a contracting system for public broadcasters and restructuring of the regulations (Professor Lee Joon-woong, Seoul National University)

On May 18 (Wed), KISDI (President Kwon Ho-yeol) and the Korea Communications Commission (Chairman Han Sang-hyuk) hosted the ‘Debate on the Public Responsibilities of Public Broadcasters and the Contract System for Public Broadcasters' in the press conference room on the 3rd floor of the Korea Broadcasters Center.

The debate was organized to discuss the adoption of a ‘contract system for public broadcasters’ that would define the public responsibilities of public broadcasters and how such responsibilities should be enforced. It is expected that the adoption of contract system will improve the diversity of public opinion and promote social solidarity in South Korea.

The Korea Communications Commission is pursuing the adoption of a contract system to replace the current licensing system to ensure that the responsibilities of public broadcasters are effectively enforced. Under the contract system, the roles and responsibilities of public broadcasters will be defined in a specific way and made legally binding on the basis of a contract signed between each public broadcaster and the government (Korea Communications Commission).

At this debating event, KISDI Director Sung Wook-jei (head of the Broadcasting & Media Research Division) gave a presentation entitled ‘The significance of adopting a contracting system for public broadcasters and the key issues’, while Professor Lee Joon-woong from Seoul National University’s Department of Communication gave a presentation titled ‘The adoption of a contracting system for public broadcasters and restructuring of the regulations’

The final debate was moderated by Professor Choi Young-mook of Sungkonghoe University’s Department of Communication, with the participation of Kim Dae-sik (PhD) of KBS's Publicness Enhancement Project Team, Professor Kim Do-yeon of Kookmin University’s School of Communication, Professor Kim Ye-ran of Kwangwoon University’s School of Media & Communication, Research Fellow Noh Chang-hee of the Institute of Digital Industry Policy, Professor Chae Young-gil of the Division of Media & Communication, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Professor Hong Won-sik of Dongduk Women’s University’s Liberal Arts College, and Director Lee Hun of the Broadcasting Policy Bureau of the Korea Communications Commission.

The debate was broadcast live via KISDI’s YouTube channel*. To promote sufficient discussion of the issues, KISDI and the Korea Communications Commission intend to hold such debates regularly in the future.