Korea Communications Standards Commission
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The Korea Communications Standards Commission () is an institution of the
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
n government that regulates communications including
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
,
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
, radio, and
internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
. At its formation in 2008, the KCSC replaced an earlier body, the Information and Communication Ethics Committee. In September 2011, the KCSC decided to open up its three discussion committees to the public.


TV program ratings

The South Korean television rating system has been in force since 2000, and it started with only four classifications which are All, 7, 13 and 18. In February 2001, all programs except domestic dramas (which had been enforced since November 2002) are required to have a rating system. In 2007, rating 13 was changed into 12 and a new rating, 15 is introduced. Most programs have to be rated, except the "exempt" rating below. Even if it qualifies for being exempt, a broadcaster may apply a rating. * All (모든 연령 시청가, Mo-deun yeon-ryeong si-cheong-ga): This rating is for programming that is appropriate for all ages. Television programs with this rating may contain some violence and/or some mild language. No adult content is allowed. * 7 (7세 이상 시청가, chil-se ii-sang si-cheong-ga): Children under 7 are prohibited from watching this program/film. Children aged 7–8 may watch this program/film, but must be accompanied by an adult. Television programs with this rating can contain mild violence, mild language and few romance. * 12 (12세 이상 시청가, sib-i-se i-sang si-cheong-ga): Children under 12 are prohibited from watching this program/film. Television programs with this rating may contain horror, some fantasy violence, some sexual content, little use of strong language, mild blood, and/or mild suggestive themes. * 15 (15세 이상 시청가, sib-o-se i-sang si-cheong-ga): Children under 15 are prohibited from watching this program/film. TV shows with this rating may contain use of alcohol, more sexual content, mild violence or little strong violence, major blood or gore, and/or suggestive themes. * 19 (19세 이상 시청가, sip-gu-se i-sang si-cheong-ga): Children under 19 are prohibited from watching this program/film. 19-rated programming is banned from airing during the hours of 7:00AM to 9:00AM, and 1:00PM to 10:00PM. Programs that receive this rating will almost certainly have adult themes, sexual situations, strong language and disturbing scenes of violence. * Exempt (no icon or name): This rating is only for knowledge based game shows; lifestyle shows; documentary shows; news; current topic discussion shows; education/culture shows; sports that excludes
MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...
or other violent sports; and other programs that the Korea Communications Standards Commission recognizes. Disclaimer or rating icons are not needed. Rating icons may be transparent, and can be positioned either on the upper-left or upper-right corner of the screen. The icon has a size of at least 1/20 of the screen, and has black writing on a yellow circle with a white outline. These icons are shown for 30 seconds when the program starts, and are shown again every 10 minutes, and when the program resumes after commercial breaks. This does not apply to 19-rated programs, where the icon must be visible throughout the entire program. These regulations do not apply to the "All" rating, as it does not have an icon. A rating disclaimer is displayed on the start of the program for five seconds explaining "This program is prohibited for children under the age of ''X'', so parental accompaniment is required"(이 프로그램은 ''X''세 미만의 어린이/청소년이 시청하기에 부적절하므로 보호자의 시청지도가 필요한 프로그램입니다, I peu-ro-geu-raem eun "X: se-mi-man ui eo rin-i/cheong-so nyeon-i si cheong hagi e bu-jeok jeol ha-meu robo hoja ui si cheong-ji doga pir-yo han peu-ro-geu-raem ipnida) for 7, 12, and 15 ratings. "All" and "19" ratings have a different disclaimer, which say "This program is suitable for all ages"(이 프로그램은 모든 연령의 시청자가 시청할 수 있는 프로그램입니다) and "This program is prohibited for children under the age of 19"(이 프로그램은 19세 미만의 청소년이 시청하기에 부적절한 프로그램입니다) respectively. These ratings are used by all South Korean television broadcasters. Despite being intended for viewing within the country,
KBS World KBS World () is the international broadcasting division of the South Korean broadcast television network Korean Broadcasting System. The division operates KBS World TV, KBS World Radio, and . History The foreign-language radio broadcast from ...
also uses these ratings. South Korean television ratings do not include content descriptors or advisories as they do in other nations. The ratings are therefore used in a broader sense.


Censorship

From 2004 to some time before 2013, the KCSC has required Korean citizens to enter government issued ID numbers in order to post political comments online. During the presidency of
Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; born 19 December 1941), often referred to by his initials MB, is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the tenth president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engi ...
the KCSC was criticized for a perceived heavy bias in favor of the
Lee Myung-bak government The Cabinet of Lee Myung-bak () was the fifth government of the History of South Korea#Sixth Republic (1988–present), Sixth Republic of South Korea. It took office on 25 February 2008 after Lee Myung-bak's victory in the 2007 South Korean presid ...
. On August 3, 2008, KCSC requested the internet portal,
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, to delete posts and comments negative towards
Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; born 19 December 1941), often referred to by his initials MB, is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the tenth president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engi ...
during the heyday of the anti-beef imports. Some lay members of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
protested against KCSC's censorship-like decision to monitor content in
social network services A social networking service (SNS), or social networking site, is a type of online social media platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests ...
and
mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...
lications. Moon Yong-sik (문용식) CEO of the South Korean internet contents company, Nowcom, has expressed concerns about the KCSC becoming a tool to monitor and to censor online content that expresses anti-government and anti-big business messages. The KCSC had considered penalizing SBS and MBC for showing
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
messages that are critical against President Lee and his government.


SNS

The KCSC planned to set up a regulatory office dedicated to supervising posts on SNS outlets. However, the
Constitutional Court of Korea The Constitutional Court of Korea () is one of the apex courtsalong with the Supreme Court of Korea, Supreme Courtin Judiciary of South Korea, South Korea's judiciary that exercises constitutional review, seated in Jongno District, Jongno, ...
ruled against KCSC's decision to regulate voting-related posts on SNS outlets.


Criticism

*Fans of South Korea's popular variety show,
Infinite Challenge ''Infinite Challenge'' (; abbreviated as ) is a South Korean comedic reality television show that aired on MBC TV from 2005 to 2018. The show was produced by Kim Tae-ho, and starred various entertainers, including Yoo Jae-suk, Park Myung-soo ...
criticized the KCSC for pointing out negative remarks towards the show regarding its usage of words based on outdated standards.


See also

*
Censorship in South Korea Censorship in South Korea is implemented by various laws that were included in the constitution as well as acts passed by the National Assembly over the decades since 1948. These include the National Security Act, whereby the government may limi ...
*
Korea Communications Commission Korea Communications Commission () is a South Korean media regulation agency modeled after the Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America. It was established on February 29, 2008, combining the former ''Korean Broadcasting ...


References


External links

* http://www.kocsc.or.kr/eng/01_About/Message.php *
중국이나 한국이나…SNS 감시 ‘닮은꼴’
similarities between South Korea and China's approach on internet censorship {{authority control Censorship in South Korea Government agencies of South Korea Government agencies established in 2008 2008 establishments in South Korea Mass media complaints authorities