City Research Online City, University of London Institutional Repository Citation: Son, Chang Yong (2012). Transformation of the media system under a neoliberal government (1998-2008) : introduction of pay TV and competition in South Korea. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis, City University) This is the accepted version of the paper. This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link: https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/19369/ Link to published version: Copyright: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the author(s) and/or copyright holders. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to. Reuse: Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. 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City Research Online: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/ [email protected] Transformation of the media system under a neoliberal government (1998-2008): introduction of pay TV and competition in South Korea Chang Yong, Son Thesis Submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy City University Department of Sociology, School of Social Science May 2012 Content The lists of tables and figu res ......................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 7 A declaration .................................................................................................................... 8 Abbreviation .................................................................................................................... 9 Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 11 Part I Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 13 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 13 1.2 The media market and the neoliberal government .................................................... 17 1.2.1 Neoliberal politics in Korea: a lost decade? ............................................................ 17 1.2.2 The nature of the media market and different models ........................................... 20 1.3 Reviewing the study of the media market and politics ............................................. 22 1.3.1 Literature on the media development and politics ................................................. 22 1.3.2 The motivation for the research ................................................................................ 26 1.4 The construction of the media system and research questions ................................. 27 1.4.1 The media system in the social context ................................................................... 27 1.4.2 The research design and research questions ............................................................ 31 1.5 Overarching principles: media policy and political economy ................................... 32 1.5.1 The study of media policy ......................................................................................... 32 1.5.2 The study of political economy ................................................................................ 36 1.6 Methodology and structure ....................................................................................... 39 1.6.1 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 39 1.6.2 Structure of the thesis ................................................................................................. 43 Chapter 2 Media developments and democracy in Korea ..•.•..•...••.•.....•••••..••••.•...... .45 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 45 2.2 From authoritarian regimes to democratic governments .......................................... 46 2.3 Authoritarian regimes and industrialisation ............................................................. .49 2.3.1 The Cold War and the repression of the media (1945-1961) ................................ 49 2.3.2 The old dual system under the authoritarian regime (1961-1980) ....................... 52 2.4 The end of the military regime and transition ........................................................... 54 2.4.1 Recycling of the authoritarian regime and comfort competition (1980-1991 ) ... 54 2.4.2 Democratisation and new political vision (1988-1991) ........................................ 58 2.5 Global strategies and the economic crisis (1991-1998) ............................................ 61 2.5.1 Removing old legacies and state-driven globalisation .......................................... 61 2.5.2 Democratisation and profcssionalisation in media regulation .............................. 63 2.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 65 Chapter 3 The shift in the global media environment and trends ..•.•........••.••.•••.•.•.. 67 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 67 3.2 Globalisation and emerging global corporations ...................................................... 68 3.2.1 Globalisation theory and the local context.. ............................................................ 68 3.2.2 The creation of global media corporations and politics ........................................ 73 3.3 From public monopoly to competition ...................................................................... 75 3.3.1 The nature of the public broadcaster and a democratic society ............................ 75 2 3.3.2 The challenges of the public broadcaster ................................................................ 78 3.4 Technology innovation .............................................................................................. 82 3.4.1 Convergence, digitalisation and politics .................................................................. 82 3.4.2 Digital transition and DTT policy ............................................................................ 84 3.5 The spread of commercial trends and concerns ........................................................ 87 3.5.1 The expansion of the commercial market ............................................................... 87 3.5.2 Commercialisation and public concerns .................................................................. 89 3.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 90 Part II Chapter 4 The architecture of the pay TV market and media regulation ............... 92 4.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 92 4.2 Mapping the pay TV industry ................................................................................... 93 4.2.1 The concept of the pay TV ........................................................................................ 93 4.2.2 The construction of the pay TV market and value chain ....................................... 95 4.3 The development of pay TV and politics .................................................................. 99 4.3.1 The creation of pay TV and building new order ..................................................... 99 4.3.2 The diffusion of the pay TV and the response from public broadcasters .......... 102 4.4 The challenges of media policy and regulation ....................................................... 104 4.4.1 The rationale for public intervention in media market ........................................ 104 4.4.2 The challenges of media policy and regulation .................................................... 106 4.5 Regulatory framework under the neoliberal government ....................................... 112 4.6 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 113 Chapter 5 Cable TV: public intervention and the demise old media ..................... 115 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 115 5.2 Cable TV and politics in the global perspective ..................................................... 116 5.3 The evolution of CATV and cable TV .................................................................... 120 5.3.1 CATV: from a relay operator to public media ...................................................... 120 5.3.2 Cable TV: from political interest to government intervention ............................ 122 5.4 The government as a facilitator and regulator ......................................................... 127 5.4.1 The dark sides of government-led development .................................................. 127 5.4.2 Vulnerable cable TV and market