SEOUL - SOUTH Korea's conservative ruling party on Wednesday unveiled a series of bills aimed at removing ownership barriers between print news media and TV networks.

The opposition accused the governing Grand National Party (GNP) of trying to secure a dominant role in the media industry for its major supporters.

One bill would, if passed, remove a ban on cross-platform ownership.

Businesses that own a newspaper would also be allowed to hold up to 20 per cent of a terrestrial TV channel and up to 49 per cent of a cable channel.

Foreigners will continue to be barred from owning a terrestrial channel but will be allowed to acquire up to a 20 per cent stake in a cable TV channel and up to 49 per cent in a satellite channel.

'Thanks to new technology that enables a merger between printed media and broadcasters, the media environment is changing rapidly,' Chung Byung-Kook, chairman of the GNP's media reform committee, told journalists.

'We focused on decisively eliminating old, unbalanced and unconstitutional regulations,' he said.

Another bill would provide for tough punishment for Internet users who insult others or spread false rumours. They would face up to two years' imprisonment or 10 million won (S$10,406) in fines.

Websites that carry news on their pages will be required to check its validity and objectivity more stringently.

The proposal comes after internet reports and rumours fuelled a series of mass protests against US beef imports that rocked President Lee Myung-Bak's government this summer.

Sweeping deregulation of the media industry is one of the key agenda items for the conservative GNP. But the move has met with strong resistance from the opposition Democratic Party and media workers.

'The government and the ruling party are lapsing back to the past dictatorial mindset. They conspire to tame and control the country's news media,' Democratic Party deputy spokesman Yoo Eun-Hye told AFP.

She said the bills could pave the way for conservative news media and large businesses to own TV networks, distorting the distribution of information.

'We'll ally with civilian activists to stop the bills from being passed through the National Assembly,' she said.

The National Union of Media Workers said the bills would allow the three largest-circulation newspapers Chosun, JoongAng and Dong-A - as well as business conglomerates such as Samsung and LG - to own a stake in TV broadcasting networks.

'This is a brazen scheme to give the three big papers TV stations, creating a new media environment beneficial for the GNP so that it may extend its grip on power eternally,' said Chae Su-Hyun, the union's top policymaker. -- AFP