<Anchor> The



UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has sent a letter to the Korean government pointing out the problems with the Media Arbitration Act. The press arbitration law may infringe on freedom of expression, and recommended that the bill be amended.



This news will be delivered by Kwak Sang-eun, a reporter.



<Reporter> This



is a letter related to the Media Arbitration Act published on the website of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.



The sender is Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur to the United Nations, a world authority on human rights and law, and former Secretary-General of Amnesty International.



Special Rapporteur Khan pointed out the problems of the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act in a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea last weekend.



They said that restrictions on freedom of expression cannot be justified by stating the prohibition of false information.



In addition, there were concerns that the provision of presumed intentional gross negligence could force journalists to divulge sources, and that excessive damages of up to five times could lead to self-censorship of the press.



[Hee-seok Shin / Legal Analyst, Working Group for Justice Transitional Justice: It is common for letters to be released after 60 days, but this was published after 48 hours, so it seems that they decided that this issue is a serious and urgent issue.] The



UN Special Rapporteur’s recommendation is to Although not binding, the activities of the Rapporteur are reported to the Human Rights Council and influence public opinion in the international community.



Previously, Special Rapporteur Khan and others sent a letter to the South Korean government in April stating that the North Korean leaflet ban law might infringe on 'freedom of expression' and violate international law.



The letter was also delivered to the Blue House and the National Assembly through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



An official from the Blue House said that he would answer the question in consultation with the relevant ministries while observing the process of the National Assembly discussion.



(Video coverage: Jeong Seong-hwa, video editing: Choi Jin-hwa)