Some say that national public broadcasting is in crisis. The reforms, starting with the separate collection of public broadcasting subscription fees have been criticized as an obvious undermining of press freedom and followed by the controversy over the removal of directors.

According to the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)'s data on "Increase and Decrease of TV Subscription Fees in the Last 5 Years," the subscription fee of KBS in August this year was 55.5 billion won, down 2.4 billion won from last year. This is the result of the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Broadcasting Act, including the separate collection of public broadcasting subscription fees in the Cabinet meeting on July 11th. There are concerns that domestic public broadcasters, KBS and EBS, which are financed by license fees, will not be able to avoid the financial crisis. 

■The Center of the Public Broadcasting Debate, “Separate Collection of License Fee”

Prior to the amendment of the Broadcasting Act, the public broadcasting (KBS and EBS)  license fee was included in the electricity bill and was paid like a tax. This means that even if the household does not watch public broadcasters, you must pay if you have a TV. It is to maintain the public role of public broadcasting to communicate and discuss social problems. Public broadcasting is legally mandated to provide accurate and quality information to the public. However, discussions on the separation of license fees were quickly promoted due to the claim that it is unfair to pay the license fee of public broadcasting that is not seen in the situation where demand for TV is decreasing. 

Experts emphasize the need for public broadcasting, along with concerns about the collection of license fees. Unlike the sensational and stimulating content consumed on YouTube or OTT, it is necessary to emphasize social journalism. Cho Hang-Je (Prof. of Media and Communication, PNU), who studies public broadcasting, said, “Public broadcasting serves as a “necessary basic material” even if very few people watch it. Society tends to underestimate the positive impact of people watching public broadcasting.” He added, “Content on public broadcasting about issues like metropolitanization or low birthrates will be noticed even if people don't see it themselves. This can lead to social attention, and society should not prevent public broadcasting from acting as a catalyst.” 

In July, when the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Broadcasting Act was approved by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), media organizations such as the Korean Journalists Association and the Broadcasters Association, as well as media civil society organizations such as the Media Christian Alliance and the Democratic Media Citizens' Union, held a press conference in front of the Government Buildings. Media organizations criticized the amendments, including the separate collection of subscription fees, that aggravates the management of public broadcasters whose subscription fees are financial resources. The Korean Association For Communication And Information Studies (KACIS) also issued a statement on August 9th, saying that “There are concerns about the capturing of public broadcasting and disabling the broadcasting system, and it is necessary to reorganize and normalize the public broadcasting system and institutions.” 

■Public Broadcasting Reform in Korea: Isn't a Rush?

Due to similar problems, various public broadcasters overseas are facing changes in the collection of subscription fees. Last year, France abolished the public broadcasting subscription fee system by revising its fiscal law. The BBC of the UK, which is considered a "role model for public broadcasting in the world" for its political independence and quality content, has also been talking about abolishing its subscription fee in 2028. The UK has announced a proposal by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorris to freeze the BBC's subscription fees until 2024, and will re-discuss the abolition of the license fee in 2027. 

However, the change in license fee is different from Korea in that it is gradual and there are alternatives, but will instead allocate 3.7 billion euro (5 trillion won) of Value Added Tax (VAT) from 2022 to 2025 to public broadcasting in the form of a special purpose tax. In addition, as the abolition of the subscription fee was a presidential campaign promise of President Macron, there was a certain degree of social consensus on the abolition. The UK has five years to discuss how to fund a replacement for the fee after the announcement of the freeze, and the abolition of the fee has not been finalized. Prof. Cho said, “In the case of the BBC, it would be difficult to see a complete abolition of the fee due to the organization's size and the fact that the fee is also used to fund the foundation of the UK.”

South Korea's revision of its broadcasting law has faced criticism that the public broadcasting, which is funded by the license fee, proceeded without preparing separate measures to face the financial crisis. The enforcement ordinance was promulgated without a grace period, and the legislative notice period, which is usually 40 days, was reduced to 10 days. KBS also made a constitutional complaint on June 26th on the reduction of the legislative notice period. Prof. Cho said, “A separate collection of public broadcasters’ fees in our society without a substantial public opinion survey being carried out  on “How much weight should the broadcasting service” is like destroying public enterprises. For the existence of public broadcasting, it is necessary to establish a “social consensus” on the method of collecting license fees.”

Reporter Choi Yun-Hui

Translated by Lim Chae-Kyung