Article 3:

1. In principle, a committee meeting convocated by the Committee Chair shall be held once a month.
2. An extraordinary meeting will be convocated by the Committee Chair if and when the Committee Chair or more than three committee members deem it necessary.
3. The Executive Director or the Director-General will ask the Committee Chair for a committee meeting to be convocated if and when they deem it necessary.

Article 4:

1. When a committee member cannot attend a meeting, they must give prior notice of absence to the Director-General using the appropriate method.

Article 5:

1. The Committee will check a complaint against the following list of conditions, and will begin proceedings when and if it deems it necessary.
   1. In principle, a broadcast that involves the violation of rights (honor, trust, privacy/portrait) and related problems in terms of broadcasting ethics.
   2. If the lack of fairness and equity in a broadcast was significantly detrimental to the complainant, the Committee can handle the complaint at its own discretion.
   3. In principle, the Committee does not handle a complaint involving items before the broadcast or items that were never broadcast. However, if the complaint involves the violation of rights or related ethical problems that arose during the coverage of a broadcast program, the Committee can handle the case at its own discretion.
   4. A complaint can go through the proceedings if there is a conflict between the complainant and the broadcaster and a satisfactory solution has not been reached. The complainant must have filed the initial complaint to the broadcaster within three months of the broadcast and to the Committee within one year.
   5. In principle, the Committee does not handle a complaint if it is in the process of a court case or arbitration, or if the complainant is seeking compensation from the broadcaster. If, after the complainant files a complaint to the Committee, either the complainant or the broadcaster decides to bring the case to court, or the complainant decides to seek compensation from the broadcaster, the Committee can immediately cease the proceedings.
   6. In principle, a person who can file a complaint is limited to the individual whose rights were violated as a result of being profiled in a program, or their direct stakeholder. However, if the complaint is made by a group, the Committee will consider the size, organization, and social character, and will handle the complaint if the group is in a need for relief.
   7. A complaint against an individual production staff is not eligible for proceedings.
   8. In principle, the Committee does not handle complaints against television commercials.
   9. A complaint that coincides with a complaint that has already been filed is not eligible for proceedings.
2. If a complaint is applicable to each of the below conditions, the Committee can decide that it is ineligible for proceedings even if it meets the standard conditions listed in the previous section.
   1. If the Committee considers that the context of the broadcast, the degree of the violation of rights, and the substantive recovery situation do not meet the sufficient requirements for proceedings.
   2. If the complaint is made by an individual or candidate from a national or municipal elective office, and if the context of the broadcast in question is clearly within permissible limits.
   3. If the complainant inordinately uses the fact that they filed a complaint to the Committee as a way of negotiating with the broadcaster, or unreasonably refuses to have a discussion with the broadcaster, making it difficult for the broadcaster to voluntarily solve the problem.
   4. If the complaint is applicable to each of the conditions above, and is deemed inappropriate to be eligible for proceedings based on the goals of the Organization and the Committee.
3. If the Committee decides to begin proceedings after a complaint has met the standard requirements, but later deems it ineligible because the complaint in question is applicable to each of the conditions in the prior section, it can immediately cease the proceedings.
4. Concerning grave violations of rights and problems in terms of broadcasting ethics as stipulated under Chapter 3, Article 5, Item 1, the Committee can start proceedings at its own discretion without waiting for a complaint.
5. Concerning the matters stipulated under Article 1 Item 1: if there was a grave violation of rights by a broadcaster in its coverage and broadcast, and if this violation is ongoing and needs to be dealt with urgently, the Committee can, based on the complaint by the individual or a stakeholder, request the broadcaster and related parties to take the necessary measures to resolve the situation.

Article 6:

1. A complaint must be submitted to the Secretariat in writing according to the format mandated by the Committee.
2. The receipt of a complaint and the proceedings will be conducted as stipulated by the internal regulations.

Article 7:

• The Committee will perform the proceedings based on the documents that were received, collected, or created by the Secretariat beforehand.

Article 8:

1. The Committee can question the complainant and the broadcaster in question during the proceedings, and also require the broadcaster to submit a recording of the broadcast.
2. The Committee can make the complainant watch the above submitted recording of the broadcast if it deems it necessary.
3. The Committee shall ask experts for their opinion on a case if it deems it necessary.

Article 9:

• The petition for proceedings filed by a complainant to the Committee shall be free of charge.

Article 10:

1. The Committee can disclose the questioning stipulated under Article 8 Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 3 if it deems it reasonable.
2. The Committee will disclose the development of proceedings.

Article 11:

1. The Committee will summarize and notify the results including the progress of proceedings to the complainant and broadcaster in writing, in the form of a “Warning” or “Opinion.”
2. The details of the “Warning” or “Opinion” will be reported to the Organization members, and after notifying the complainant and the broadcaster, will be disclosed to the public in the Committee’s name by the Organization.
3. When disclosing the above details, the Committee shall obtain the complainant’s consent beforehand to use their real name. If the complainant has a special circumstance, the “Warning” or “Opinion” shall remain anonymous.
4. The public announcement shall be made by holding a press conference or other appropriate ways.
5. The Committee can require the broadcaster to broadcast and share the findings of the proceedings with the viewers.

Article 12:

1. If requested, the Committee can pay the travel expenses (only for the complainant or a person with a direct connection for the time being) necessary for the complainant’s presence at the questioning stipulated under Article 8 Paragraph 1 and disclosure in the previous Article Paragraph 1.
2. The Committee can pay the travel expenses and gratuity for an individual attending the questioning stipulated under Article 8 Paragraph 3.
3. Travel expenses include transportation fees, per-diem allowances, and accommodation fees.
4. Regulations regarding the payment in the previous Paragraph 3 will be stipulated by the Director-General.

Article 13:

• The Committee cannot vote on a proceeding unless more than five Committee members, two of whom are the Committee Chair and the acting Committee Chair, are present.

Article 14:

• The Committee Chair shall chair the committee meeting, state their opinion on the proceedings, and participate in the vote.

Article 15:

• The Committee Chair can ask the Secretariat for an explanation of the agenda if needed.

Article 16:

• In principle, committee decisions require the consensus of all committee members. If a consensus cannot be reached, the decisions will be made by the majority rule. If the vote is a tie, the final decision will be made by the Committee Chair. If a decision is made by majority vote, the minority opinion can also be added on the “Warning” or the “Opinion.” If a committee member cannot attend the Committee Meeting for an inevitable reason, they can state their opinion in writing.

Article 17:

The Secretariat is responsible for the following operations:

1. Research and reporting of complaints.
2. If, after judging from the findings of the above research, the Committee decides not to begin proceedings on a case, the Secretariat shall notify the complainant and the broadcaster in question, including the reason why the case was not adopted.
3. If discussion between the complainant and the broadcaster is considered insufficient, the Secretariat must first of all urge the involved parties to make an effort to solve the problem between themselves, and if necessary, will take on the intermediary role to find a solution.
4. Obtaining the cooperation of the complainant and the broadcaster to collect the necessary materials for proceedings, such as related documents, a recording of the broadcast in question, and any other matters that the Secretariat believes will contribute to the proceedings.
5. After proceedings end, the Secretariat shall immediately return all related documents and the recording of the broadcast stipulated under Article 8 Paragraph 1, to the complainant and the broadcaster in question.
6. The Secretariat shall notify the results of the proceedings, in the Committee’s name, to the complainant and the broadcaster in question.
7. Administrative work for meetings and documentation.
8. Any other administrative work necessary for proceedings.

Amendments

Article 18:

Amendments to these terms and conditions require the approval by the board after a vote by the Committee.

• Supplementary terms and conditions
• These terms and conditions are effective as of June 11, 1997
• Enacted June 11, 1997
• Amended August 1, 1998
• Amended April 1, 2001
• Amended July 1, 2003
• Amended April 1, 2004
• Amended March 14, 2007
• Amended April 1, 2020