Ministry of Science and ICT Fails to Summon Witnesses on KCC Audit Day
Criticism Over Neglecting Audits of the Main ICT Regulatory Body
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] The National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Communications Committee has yet to finalize the adoption of ordinary witnesses and reference witnesses ahead of the national audit. The ruling and opposition parties, which have been engaged in a power struggle over political issues since the opening of the National Assembly, are criticized for neglecting the audit of the ICT main ministries by making the national audit a 'bland' event.
As a result, no witnesses or reference witnesses were summoned for the audits of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission. The ruling and opposition parties have expressed their intention to invite major ICT industry players and global big tech companies such as Google and Netflix to the comprehensive audit to discuss issues related to 'network usage fees,' but it is expected to be difficult.
Parallel Lines Until the Last Minute, Science and ICT Committee Could Not Even Summon Reference Witnesses
On the morning of the 30th at 12:00 AM, Park Sung-joong of the People Power Party and Cho Seung-rae of the Democratic Party, the ruling and opposition floor managers of the Science and ICT Committee, held last-minute negotiations over the adoption of ordinary witnesses but failed to narrow their differences. The list of ordinary witness attendance requests from both parties included the three major telecommunications companies, major broadcasters and broadcasters, and global big tech companies such as Google, Netflix, and Apple. Among them, the summoning of executives from the three major telecom companies?SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus?was agreed upon early, but no agreement was reached on the adoption of other witnesses as both sides accused each other of conducting a 'political audit.' The Science and ICT Committee's national audit will be held from the 4th to the 24th of next month. The targets include 83 institutions such as the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Korea Communications Commission, and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.
The People Power Party demanded the adoption of witnesses including former and current presidents of Naver, TBS, MBC, KBS, SBS, YTN, and broadcaster Kim Eo-jun, but the Democratic Party reportedly took a stance of 'not allowed.' The People Power Party prepared sharp questions focusing on issues such as the score manipulation incident in the comprehensive programming channel re-approval review, biased broadcasting, and black risks related to strike non-participation. The Democratic Party opposed, saying that the national audit should not deal with sensitive political issues.
In response, the People Power Party also did not agree to the witnesses proposed by the Democratic Party, including Google, Apple, Netflix related to internet network usage fee disputes and in-app payment controversies, as well as Kakao, Baedal Minjok, and CJ ENM related to political issues.
A Democratic Party official said, "We suggested finalizing and approving the list of witnesses that both parties agreed upon, but the People Power Party is holding out," adding, "We even proposed adopting executives from the three major telecom companies and big tech companies as witnesses for the Korea Communications Commission audit, but even that has become difficult." A People Power Party official claimed, "The opposition party rejected all 20 or so witnesses we wanted to bring to the Korea Communications Commission audit," and said, "How can we scratch the public's itch when none of our key witnesses are present at the Korea Communications Commission audit?"
Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao, appeared as a witness at the National Assembly's audit on the Korea Communications Commission held last year by the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee of the National Assembly, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@
Some express concern that major industry issues may be overshadowed by the ruling and opposition parties' power struggle. This national audit is expected to cover issues such as 5G quality, 28 GHz base station construction, coexistence plans between telecom companies and MVNOs, 5G mid-tier pricing plans, internet network usage fee disputes, and forced in-app payment issues.
A National Assembly official said, "The ruling and opposition parties are waging war over broadcasting issues, so there is a risk of missing major industry issues that should be addressed in the standing committee," and pointed out, "To shed the stigma of 'bland audits' that have continued for years, discussions must proceed quickly and procedures followed."
The biggest problem is that the attendance of global big tech companies as witnesses at this national audit may fail. Google is currently opposing the 'network usage fee' bill being promoted in the National Assembly by running both online and offline advertisements. In this process, Google has even claimed that if the law passes, domestic YouTubers could be harmed by holding YouTubers hostage. The Science and ICT Committee planned to summon Gautam Anand, Vice President of Google YouTube Asia-Pacific, as a witness to question him about internet network usage fees, but the situation has become uncertain. Dean Garfield, Vice President of Netflix, was also early on included in the Science and ICT Committee's witness list, but his attendance is currently uncertain.
Google was fined 69.2 billion KRW for collecting personal information without user consent and using it for online targeted advertising. It was expected that the national audit would obtain a clear explanation from Google and a promise to prevent recurrence, but attendance remains uncertain. Peter Aldenwood, Apple’s representative, will appear before the Political Affairs Committee. Members of the Political Affairs Committee plan to examine Apple's unfair settlement of in-app payment fees and the issue of in-app payment fee increases.
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