Support of 20,000 KRW for Communication Fees
Late Partnership Discount Reduction Issue Emerges
Discussion Ongoing in Council but Not Easy... Government Support Needed
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The card industry is struggling belatedly over the government's 20,000 won support for communication fees. Problems such as a decrease in card company partnership discount amounts due to the communication fee support have emerged. The industry is trying to find solutions as much as possible but insists that support from the government and the telecommunications industry is urgently needed.
Government Forms Consultative Body with Telecom and Card Industries to Discuss 'Communication Fee Card Discounts'
According to the industry on the 26th, regarding the 20,000 won support for communication fees as part of the second disaster relief fund, the Ministry of Science and ICT, telecommunications, and card industries formed a consultative body at the end of last month to discuss the issue of communication fee card discounts.
The communication fee support was implemented by automatically deducting 20,000 won from the September communication fees for citizens aged 16 to 34 and those aged 65 and above. It seemed that the telecommunications industry would simply receive government funds and provide the support, but the problem spilled over to the card industry due to the complex structure of bundled products and partnership discounts.
For example, a customer using a 25,000 won monthly plan and receiving a 15,000 won communication fee discount by meeting a 300,000 won previous month spending requirement through a card partnership discount will see the card discount reduced to 5,000 won due to the government's 20,000 won communication fee support. This is because the communication fee itself was billed as 5,000 won after the 20,000 won support. The benefit, which was previously 15,000 won, is reduced to 5,000 won, rendering the effort to meet the previous month’s spending requirement ineffective. This problem is more likely to affect customers using cheaper plans.
At the comprehensive National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Science and ICT held on the 22nd, Representative Heo Eun-ah of the People Power Party pointed out this issue, criticizing, "Card companies received unexpected undue profits and had to bear compensation costs to return them, while telecommunications companies faced misunderstandings that they were enriching themselves despite selecting support targets and providing discounts." According to Representative Heo, since the government counseling center opened at the end of last month regarding communication fee support, a total of 14,144 counseling calls have been received. In response, Minister Choi Ki-young of the Ministry of Science and ICT replied, "It will take time to resolve the issue due to card companies’ program development."
Card Industry: "We Will Cooperate as Much as Possible... Support from Government and Telecom Industry Needed"
The card industry states that it will cooperate as much as possible to compensate for the communication fee card discount benefits. However, the atmosphere is that finding an actual way to compensate is not easy. Since the formation of the consultative body, the card industry has been meeting frequently to seek solutions, but no immediate effective measures have emerged.
First of all, it is explained that it is very complicated to implement in the computer system how to identify discount recipients based on any criteria. Each card company has various forms of partnership discounts such as installments and billing discounts, making cases extremely diverse. Card companies only receive information after the communication fee has been discounted, so identifying recipients is not easy. Also, even if they compensate for the discount benefits, there is no basis to support this. It is awkward to compensate for amounts already billed in the following month. The payment method is also difficult to apply in the system, such as selecting recipients and providing points or additional discount benefits.
Because of this, there is also criticism that if this had been discussed together before the September communication fee deduction, it would have been easier to solve the problem. It is said that there are limitations in responding after the September communication fee billing has ended.
An industry official said, "We will cooperate as much as possible, but there will be cases that cannot be handled due to the variety of cases and the difficulty of developing computer systems," adding, "Support from the Ministry of Science and ICT and telecommunications companies is urgently needed starting from basic issues such as confirming discount compensation recipients."
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