This study is to assess the Media Policy of past Korean Governments and the current Media Policy, and their Media Market structures. Through an empirical analysis, I would like to suggest Media policy measures and strategies which may push ahead Korea...
This study is to assess the Media Policy of past Korean Governments and the current Media Policy, and their Media Market structures. Through an empirical analysis, I would like to suggest Media policy measures and strategies which may push ahead Korean Government to meet 21st century challenges more efficiently.
As is generally known, dictatorship of the former military government resulted in the adhesive Press-Political power collabolation and the concurrent development of monopoly capitalism had resulted in the symbiotic adhesion of the Capital-Press relation. Consequently, the Korea Press in general, have been suffered from all sorts of hardship, limping, and adversaries.
That is to say, critical roles and guarding accountabilities of the Korean Press has been chronically weakened, the Press has attached great importance to private function as well as public function, and also has disregarded the human rights by intensifying politico-administrative power organizations. Virtually, the mechanism of public opinion have been thrown up and broken against media policy reforms. Also, the roles and functions of the Korean Press market which was reorganized and distorted by the compulsory press mergence under such dictatorial government still exist today. And the market disorder was inherited by the media policy of Kim-Young Sam administration, which mistook the democratic policy, mobilizing some special privileges and permission mechanism for the Press.
Accordingly, these functional loss, perversion of the Press and the failure and disorder of the Press market must be reformed by a more democratic Media Policy of the 'government of the People'.
But as already known, the Press Policy of the Kim Dae-Jung Administration have shown the character of both noninterference and positive intervention for order recovery of the press market.
In another words, the Administration has adhered to a passive noninterference policy rather than transforming the press toward indirect inducement.
Since the government has the responsibility about reforms of the distorted press market state for the Press Publicity, any media policy of democratic polities should reflect public opinion and demands.
As mentioned above, the Korean Press in 1990s must solve the very complex problems experienced in the era of 1970s~1980s toward the new media vision.
Toward a new vision and image of 21st century media policy, our press and media systems need to explore and should analyze the past experiences of last four decades, and must foresee the future phenomena more correctly.
In this context, first, the Korean media policy must recover the critical responsibility. Second, the Korean Press must realize the public input and citizen governance. Third, it should realize the rationalization of its policy and management. Fourth, it must improve the professionalism and accountable capability.
Accordingly, the Administration must recognize that the press should accomplish the social development roles and democratization.
In conclusion, both the government and press must be reconstructed to avoid the adhesive Press-Political power collaboration again, setting an entirely new democratic media policy, honoring democratic values, especially freedom of opinion, information, and expression.