"2 out of 10 Domestic Mobile Subscribers Use Self-Registered Devices"

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Eun-mo] It has been revealed that 2 out of 10 domestic mobile communication subscribers use self-supplied (jagupje) mobile phones.

The office of Assemblyman Byeon Jae-il of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee, announced on the 17th that based on data submitted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, as of July this year, 18.93% of all mobile communication subscribers are using self-supplied devices. The usage rates of self-supplied devices among the three major carriers and MVNO operators were 11.5% and 80.42%, respectively.

Since the government's promotion of self-supplied device activation policies in 2018, the usage rate of self-supplied devices has been estimated based on data from MVNO operators, but this is the first time an accurate overall tally has been released, explained Assemblyman Byeon’s office.

He pointed out that the current "Act on the Improvement of Distribution Structure of Mobile Communication Terminals (DanTong Act)" only regulates matters related to devices sold by carriers and does not include provisions regarding self-supplied devices.

Assemblyman Byeon Jae-il said, "Since it has been confirmed that 2 out of 10 citizens and 8 out of 10 MVNO subscribers use self-supplied devices, legal and institutional support is necessary for the stable establishment of the self-supplied system," adding, "We will promptly prepare an amendment to the DanTong Act in line with the Korea Communications Commission's distribution guidelines for self-supplied devices."