The Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission (Chairman Kim Jong-chul) convened its 39th plenary meeting on the 30th and approved a plan to realize a ‘Media Basic Society’ aimed at substantively guaranteeing citizens’ media rights in the digital and artificial-intelligence era. At its core is the ‘First-Term Vision and Key Policy Measures (draft),’ which sets out four goals — universal access, active participation, autonomous choice and a sustainable ecosystem — along with 12 policy tasks.
 [코리안투데이] 디지털 인공지능 시대 국민과 함께 미디어 기본사회 만든다 © 장형임 기자 |
The Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission has set its first-term vision, the first to be drawn up since its launch in October last year, as a ‘Media Basic Society together with the people.’ What stands out is that it restructures the policy framework around how citizens enjoy, participate in and choose media amid a changing media environment, moving beyond the conventional division of policy by broadcasting and telecommunications sectors.
Underlying this vision is a fundamental shift in the media environment. As digital technology and artificial intelligence spread, media are becoming closely tied to citizens’ everyday lives as a whole — including education, culture, economic activity and social participation — beyond mere communication and information-gathering. Citizens, too, are no longer content simply to consume content; they are becoming active agents who directly produce and share it, choose among diverse platforms and take part in forming social opinion. Accordingly, the Commission judges that media policy must likewise expand beyond merely providing ‘opportunities to use’ media, so that anyone can enjoy media without discrimination and participate in and choose it as an active agent.
The first of the four approved goals is ‘strengthening universal access.’ The scope of support will be broadened so that no one is left behind in the course of using media on grounds of disability, age or region. Support that has centered on people with visual and hearing impairments will be expanded into a more comprehensive access policy, and opportunities for vulnerable groups such as older adults and people with disabilities to access and make use of artificial intelligence will be widened. The Commission will pursue the establishment of an integrated platform linking terrestrial radio services that are currently dispersed by broadcaster and region, and will expand outreach media services to areas where access to media infrastructure is difficult. Improvements to the disaster-information delivery system and the guarantee of universal viewing rights for events of public interest are also included.
 [코리안투데이] 디지털 인공지능 시대 국민과 함께 미디어 기본사회 만든다 © 장형임 기자 |
The second is ‘expanding citizen-led active participation.’ Education in artificial-intelligence and media literacy will be expanded in line with the characteristics of each life stage and group, from early childhood through old age, and content production and creative activities will be supported. Based on the ‘5 mega-regions and 3 special zones’ framework, viewer media centers will be expanded and developed into hubs, the operation of viewer committees will be made more substantive, and users’ direct participation in inspecting and reporting on telecommunications services will be broadened.
 [코리안투데이] 디지털 인공지능 시대 국민과 함께 미디어 기본사회 만든다 © 장형임 기자 |
The third is ‘guaranteeing autonomous choice grounded in safety and trust.’ Transparency in the linked scheduling of broadcast programs and in recommendation algorithms will be enhanced, and ethical principles for artificial intelligence in the broadcasting and media field will be established. The system for distributing and managing AI-generated material will be overhauled to strengthen users’ right to know and right to choose, and the existing Connecting Information (CI) system — which is difficult to change once leaked — will be improved into one that can be renewed. The framework for protecting users’ rights related to personal information, including stronger checks against the leakage and misuse of location data, will also be supplemented.
The fourth is ‘building a sustainable ecosystem of innovation and mutual prosperity.’ Reflecting a reality in which the boundaries between broadcasting and online platforms are rapidly dissolving, the Commission will push to enact an ‘Integrated Media Act’ and improve existing systems — such as the re-licensing and re-approval of broadcasters, pay TV, and programming and home shopping — to fit market conditions. It will support the overseas expansion of online video services (OTT) and back the digital and AI transition of local, small and micro broadcasters. Through improvements to the advertising and sponsorship systems and the rationalization of the Broadcasting and Communications Development Fund and revenue-sharing structures, it will also broaden the industry’s financial base.
 [코리안투데이] 디지털 인공지능 시대 국민과 함께 미디어 기본사회 만든다 © 장형임 기자 |
Ultimately, these tasks touch the daily lives of individual residents. The vision’s aim is to ensure that people with disabilities and older adults are not excluded from access to information, that residents in the regions enjoy a media environment on par with the metropolitan area, and that people can discern the facts and make their own choices even amid information created by artificial intelligence.
To implement the vision systematically, the Commission plans to make active use of expert committees and special committees and to build cooperative frameworks with relevant ministries and agencies, thereby enhancing policy expertise and the capacity to deliver. Chairman Kim Jong-chul said, ‘In the digital and AI era, we must consider not only changes in the technology and industry surrounding media, but also citizens’ rights and roles.’ He added, ‘Building on this first-term vision, we will substantively guarantee citizens’ media sovereignty and turn the detailed tasks into policies that people can feel, so as to create a Media Basic Society together with the people.’
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화코리안브랜드대상 신청 최고경영인대상 신청 소비자만족도대상 신청
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