An interesting report about how a press law in South Korea could cause a barrage of unwarranted requests for correction (we plan to look into this more):
Seoul Central Court asked the Constitutional Court on Thursday to review the newly revised media law, saying there were possibilities that some of its clauses violated the constitution. The court said some clauses of the Press Arbitration Act could be unconstitutional, citing statutes allowing people to demand corrections regardless of the initial reports' accuracy. The court was considering a case filed by the National Intelligence Service demanding a correction by the Chosun Ilbo, a daily newspaper.
Media companies have protested against that requirement since the law's revision took effect in July last year, expressing concerns that they would face a flood of requests for corrections although the initial reports were written based on convincing investigations and published for the public good. Until now, media companies have been exempted from liability related to libel if the reports were made without malicious intent.
The court said the revised law put an excessive burden on media companies in fact-finding and would eventually shrink their role in raising suspicions, infringing on press freedom.
The academic and legal community believe the court's opinion will likely be upheld by the Constitutional Court. 'Scholars and members of the legal community have already taken issue with that particular clause,' said Moon Jae-wan, professor of law at Hankook University of Foreign Studies, noting that advanced countries had no such law.
