Today (30th) at 5 pm, with the National Assembly plenary session scheduled to be held for the resolution of the bill, there is conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over whether to introduce the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act.
Prior to the plenary session, the Democratic Party of Korea and the People's Power hold a general meeting of members of the House of Representatives and an urgent issue report at 3 pm, respectively, to gather opinions within the party on the revision of the Media Arbitration Act and discuss response plans.
The next meeting of the ruling and opposition floor leaders to be held presided over by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok is expected to be a watershed that will determine whether the amendment bill is proposed today.
Earlier, Democratic Party floor leader Yun Ho-joong and People's Power floor leader Kim Ki-hyun met on the weekend yesterday as well, but they did not find an agreement after only checking differences in positions.
The Democratic Party, which had been adhering to the enforcement position, is in an atmosphere of gaining strength as voices of concern have been raised from international media organizations and academia, as well as from the Blue House and within the party.
Before the regular National Assembly in September, we want to have a time of deliberation because we are concerned about the cooling of the government and headwinds of public opinion.
However, we can't help but be conscious of the hardline supporters who insist on 'expedited processing', so a heated debate is expected at the general assembly.
A key official within the Democratic Party said, "It is not easy to predict what kind of conclusions will be drawn at the general assembly, such as forced processing and postponement of processing."
The People's Power has threatened to launch a filibuster (obstructing legal proceedings through unrestricted discussion) if the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act is brought to the plenary session.
Earlier, floor leader Kim Ki-hyeon sent a text message to party lawmakers yesterday, requesting that all members attend the emergency report on pending issues in consideration of the serious situation.
The People's Power plans to discuss specific countermeasures, such as filibusters, at this current issue report.
After each party leader gathers opinions within the party and establishes a response plan, they will hold a final discussion at a meeting presided over by National Assembly Speaker Park Byung-seok scheduled for 4 pm.
Meanwhile, Song Young-gil, chairman of the Democratic Party, and Lee Jun-seok, representative of the People's Power, face off in a TV debate tonight over the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act.
Representatives of both parties will appear on MBC '100 Minute Discussion' at 10:30 tonight.
In today's discussion, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won and People's Power lawmaker Choi Hyung-doo from the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, which is a standing committee under the jurisdiction of the amendment, will also attend.