The Broadcast Media Communications Commission has begun internal consultations to discuss how to enact an "Audiovisual Media Services Act" covering broadcasting and online video services (OTT).

On Aug. 7, related industry officials said the commission held a kickoff meeting the previous day to share the results of policy research on the act and discuss the direction of the bill. The meeting was aimed at gathering commissioners' views on various options presented in the research.

A commission official said, "We have conducted policy research for several years and have prepared the content to some extent, but the proposals presented during the research process are diverse." The official added, "Based on the research results, we are sharing the situation with commissioners and gathering and consulting on their views on which direction is appropriate."

The official said, "We have not yet formed a unified view or reached a stage where a specific proposal has been confirmed as a government bill." The official added, "Depending on the discussion process going forward and related circumstances such as the establishment of a Media Development Committee, the direction of 추진 could be fluid."

The commission included the enactment of the Audiovisual Media Services Act in the government's 2026 legislative plan. It envisions introducing a horizontal classification system based on functions such as platforms and content, and applying different levels of regulation depending on service characteristics. The plan also includes easing broadcasting regulations and laying the groundwork for supporting the media industry.

The Audiovisual Media Services Act is an integrated media bill that would reorganise a media regulatory system currently split across laws such as the Broadcasting Act and the Internet Multimedia Broadcasting Business Act (IPTV Act). The core is to handle terrestrial broadcasters, pay TV, OTT and video-sharing platforms under a single framework called "audiovisual media services."

A bill on the Audiovisual Media Services Act filed by Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Min-hee (최민희) on June 18 is already pending in the National Assembly. Comparing the government's bill being discussed by the commission and Choi's bill, the direction diverges at three points.

Three major issues: public domain, deregulation and creators

In future discussions, a key issue is how far to define the scope of the public domain. The policy research results are understood to have presented as a likely option a plan to limit the public domain to terrestrial broadcasters.

Choi's bill defines as news channels real-time audiovisual media content services that perform a news function, in addition to public broadcasters and terrestrial broadcasters, and includes them in the public domain. News channels require the commission's approval and are subject to higher entry regulation than the market domain.

Another issue is how far to ease existing broadcasting regulations. Choi's bill, which integrates the Broadcasting Act and the IPTV Act, includes rules on programming, advertising and sponsorship, as well as a viewer protection system. But it does not include specific easing provisions such as expanding mid-roll advertising and easing indirect advertising rules, which terrestrial and pay TV operators have demanded.

The commission, by contrast, has continued its deregulation stance. Through a proposed revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Broadcasting Act in June, it expanded the daily advertising cap from 17 percent to 20 percent and eased the standards for allowing mid-roll advertising.

Another issue is whether to include individual creators as targets of regulation. Choi's bill classifies businesses that provide user-produced content, such as that made by YouTubers, as "user-produced audiovisual media content service providers." Among them, it imposes a reporting obligation to the commission on businesses above a certain size, as prescribed by a presidential decree.

Policy research by the commission is reported to place more emphasis on platform-centred regulation than on individual creators. The commission's position is that further deliberation is needed on the specific targets and the level of obligations.

If the commission prepares a separate government bill in the future, it must go through procedures including consultations with relevant agencies, a legislative notice period, regulatory review, a review by the Ministry of Government Legislation and a Cabinet meeting. If review of Choi's bill proceeds before a government bill is submitted to the National Assembly, the commission could adjust by presenting the government's views or reflecting related content in the lawmakers' bill. If a separate government bill is submitted, the National Assembly could review both bills together or prepare an alternative by committee.

A media policy expert said, "In future bill discussions, the core issues will be whether to view the public domain as extending only to terrestrial broadcasters or to include news channels, how far to ease or apply existing broadcasting regulations, and whether to limit OTT regulation to platforms or expand it to individual creators." The expert added, "In particular, depending on how the public nature of news channels is defined, the division between the public and market domains and the level of regulation applied could also change."