Digital Transformation: Korean Media Concerns | MCST

the government 2026year area·Although a large-scale budget expansion was undertaken under the pretext of digital transformation of small and medium-sized media,, Internet newspapers, which have supported local public debate through real-time reporting, are still in an institutional blind spot., There is an assessment that the structural problems pointed out by the National Assembly were not sufficiently reflected in the policy..

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism(Minister Choi Hwi-young)and Korea Broadcasting Media and Communications Commission(Chairman Kim Jong-cheol)Is 2026year area·They announced that they will significantly expand support to strengthen the digital transformation and content production capabilities of small and medium-sized media companies.. Through this, the government supports local media that are experiencing management difficulties amid changes in the digital media environment., The position is to restore the public nature of media, which forms the basis of local public opinion and democracy..

The amount of support has increased noticeably..region·In the field of small and medium-sized broadcasting, the previous year 79From 100 million won 2.5double magnified gun202Hundreds of millions of won will be invested. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism through the Press Promotion Foundation·Budget to support small and medium-sized broadcasters 2025year35At the billion won level 2026year148Expanded to billion won,Budget for local broadcast coverage support 13From 100 million won35Increased to billion won. New budget for digital transformation 79Hundreds of millions of won were allocated, Support for public service advertising 22From 100 million won 34Expanded to billion won.

Bangmi-Tonglatitude Area·Last year’s budget was allocated to strengthen the content competitiveness of small and medium-sized broadcasters.44From 100 million won54Increased to 100 million won.Budget for producing community-based programs utilizing the region’s unique culture and resources 10Increase billion won,The plan is to continue to support content distribution and professional competency strengthening education..

There is also a clear trend of expansion in the local newspaper sector.. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism increased the local newspaper development fund more than last year.35increased by 100 million won118Organized into billions of won,He announced that he would focus on strengthening digital capabilities and improving the quality of in-depth reporting.. Supporting innovative ideas in local newspapers‘Local newspaper proposal project’ The budget is 3From 100 million won 20In billions of won 5It has more than doubled,Encouraging in-depth coverage of local issues‘Planning reporting support’ budget too 5From 100 million won 10Expanded to billion won. Supports the latest equipment such as drones‘Digital reporting equipment rental’budget too16100 million5From 10 million won30100 million5Increased to 10 million won.

However, even with this budget expansion, Internet newspapers were not explicitly included at the center of the policy.. The government announcement specifically presented support items and budget for local broadcasting and local newspapers, but,Internet newspapers were not mentioned as a separate target or dedicated business.. Even with digital transformation as the core policy,,This is why some point out that the reality of local internet newspapers, which are already operated on a digital basis, has not been sufficiently reflected in policy design..

The evaluation and role of internet newspapers in the field are different.. Regardless of whether or not it is published in paper, local internet newspapers are operated by administrative agencies.·parliament·education·justice·Real-time reporting on local issues such as daily life complaints, It serves as a key channel for spreading local issues through portals and social networking services.. calamity·Accident reporting or local power monitoring,There are many evaluations that the residents’ perception of the provision of information closely related to their daily lives is also high.. Nevertheless, institutional awareness is still‘Focus on paper newspapers’A common problem in the Internet media industry is that it remains stuck in.

In line with this, the government advertising fee structure through the Press Promotion Foundation is pointed out as a key issue that is increasing dissatisfaction with internet newspapers and local media in general.. In the process of executing promotional expenses for public institutions, many Internet newspaper companies spend approximately10%is being charged as a fee, but,Equivalent public advertisement or education·They say digital transformation support is difficult to feel.. In the field, the volume of public service advertisements provided to Internet newspapers is equivalent to the total fee on an annual basis. 10%Some say that it does not even reach the level of.

Regarding this issue, Park Soo-hyun, a member of the National Assembly of the Democratic Party of Korea, has strongly criticized the structural problems of the Press Foundation.. According to Rep. Park, the foundation recently 10Through government advertisements for over 20 years, approximately1article3Sales of 100 billion won and1We earned over 100 billion won in commission income.,Of these, the proportion used to support local media was6.7%It’s just.Rep. Park said this“The press foundation’s government advertising fee is actually a structure of media exploitation.”pointed out.

Rep. Park“ The local media 10I’ve been paying fees for over a year.,education·Support is virtually‘zero’was close to”as“Surplus resources held by the foundation520Hundreds of millions of won should be used to restore the local media ecosystem.”claimed that. Also, in the process of allocating government advertisements, local media,In particular, internet newspapers are structurally excluded.“If this is the case, we need to reexamine the reason for the existence of the press foundation.”said.

In addition, he called for the substantial restoration of the local newspaper development fund and the establishment of a dedicated secretariat..The local newspaper development fund was once250It was worth billions of won, but currently85decreased significantly to the billion won level..Representative Park said that the reduction in funding is directly related to the weakening of the reporting capacity of local media.,He emphasized that the government and the National Assembly should actively work to create an ecosystem so that local media can play a public role in responding to the crisis of regional extinction..

Summarizing these issues,, government 2026The 2018 policy to expand support for local media has improved to some extent, focusing on broadcasting and existing local newspapers., There are evaluations that it is difficult to say that the problem of imbalance between Internet newspapers and the overall structure of local media has been resolved..The lack of separate policy design for digital media despite the emphasis on digital transformation shows the gap between policy goals and reality..

broadcast 202billion won,local newspaper 118Expanded to billion won 2026The support for local media in 2018 is clearly a step forward from previous measures.. However, the issue of exclusion of internet newspapers and the press foundation fee structure,Unless the imbalance in local media support is fundamentally addressed, the policy effect will inevitably be limited..The challenge remains that local media policy in the era of digital transformation must be redesigned based on media that actually supports local residents’ right to know and publicness, rather than media type..

(Daejeon Internet Newspaper=Sejong/Reporter Choi Dae-yeol