During my nine-year term as a member of the Broadcast and Human Rights / Other Related Rights Committee, I learned that viewers and listeners placed very high expectations on broadcasting. In July 2003, the Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization (BPO) was created by integrating the Broadcast Committee for Quality Programming, BRC and the Broadcast Committee for Youth Programming. The Broadcast Committee for Quality Programming was voluntarily dissolved in May 2007 in order to make way for the Committee for the Investigation of Broadcasting Ethics, which, in addition to the previous roles, conducts investigation and deliberation on falsified broadcasting.

I believe that the most important role to be played by BPO today is meeting the huge expectations of viewers and listeners. To achieve this, BPO must express its fair and proper opinions, formed from an independent standpoint, on misleading impressions created by falsified broadcasting on viewers and listeners, on human rights infringements and on complaints and doubts of viewers and listeners concerning effects of broadcasting on the youth and must communicate them to broadcasting stations. Respect for freedom of speech and expres sion is, of course, guaranteed in our Constitution. However, if there is no support or awareness of the viewers and listeners, then this freedom is not being realized.

As a third-party organization in the broadcasting industry, we at BPO are committed to fulfilling our responsibilities with honor.