AI, media and platform innovation and user protection on the agenda; agencies to cooperate on establishing government-mandated 'Media Development Commission'
South Korea's Broadcasting, Media and Telecommunications Commission and the Ministry of Science and ICT launched a vice-minister-level policy council Wednesday to address the rapidly shifting media and digital landscape of the AI era. The move signals closer institutional cooperation on media and platform industries — and is drawing attention for the momentum it could give to the Lee Jae Myung administration's plan to establish a "Media Development Commission" as a key government initiative.
The two agencies held a launch meeting Wednesday, agreeing on cooperation measures to jointly build an AI and media ecosystem — including support for AI applications using broadcasting and media data, and coordination around online video streaming service events.
Under the arrangement, the two agencies plan to hold vice-minister-level policy consultations twice a year, supplemented by working-level director general meetings on urgent issues. The aim is to strengthen policy cooperation on AI, media and digital platform industry innovation and user protection.
Among the first items agreed upon was deeper data-sharing cooperation to strengthen AI model competitiveness. Specifically, the agencies agreed to provide monitoring data from the Broadcasting, Media and Telecommunications Commission's deliberation committee to the Ministry of Science and ICT's elite team developing an independent AI foundation model, for use in AI training. They also agreed to channel a portion of the commission's "broadcasting video AI training data" to the ministry's AI Hub platform.
The two agencies also agreed to strengthen cooperation to secure South Korea's foothold in the evolving platform ecosystem. As part of Wednesday's discussions, the Broadcasting, Media and Telecommunications Commission agreed to join the "Global K-FAST Alliance." Launched last year as part of the government's strategy to boost competitiveness in AI and the K-OTT industry, the alliance was set up to help domestic companies compete in the fast-growing FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) market.
The agencies also agreed to work together to identify new projects related to OTT and FAST services, and to coordinate around existing events such as the Korea International Streaming Festival and the International OTT Forum.
In addition, the two agencies agreed to actively cooperate on establishing a "Media Development Commission" to set medium- and long-term media strategy.
The Lee administration had earlier designated "building a future-oriented digital media ecosystem" as Government Initiative No. 108, explicitly calling for the creation of a "Media Development Commission" — a tentative name — as a joint public-private committee under the prime minister. The commission is intended to serve as a unified command center bringing together media policy authority currently dispersed across the Broadcasting, Media and Telecommunications Commission, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in order to manage strategy for responding to the rapidly restructuring media ecosystem.
The two agencies also pledged to work together to strengthen user protection in response to the spread of platform and AI services and a rise in cyberattacks.
Ko Min-su, a standing commissioner at the Broadcasting, Media and Telecommunications Commission, said advances in AI and platform technology are "simultaneously presenting both opportunities and challenges to our society," adding that the two agencies would "build an organic cooperation framework to deliver policy outcomes that meet public expectations."
Ryu Je-myeong, second vice minister of Science and ICT, said it was "highly meaningful" for the two ministries — "members of the same family under the roof of ICT" — to come together amid the sweeping tide of change brought by AI. "Starting with today's meeting, we will continue to identify tangible results that the public can feel through close cooperation between the two ministries," he said.
balme@heraldcorp.com
