Kim Young-joo "7 Cases of Suspected Telecommunication Quality Evaluation Fraud Detected Over 3 Years"

Kim Young-joo "Surveillance, Signal Jamming, and Interference via Mobile Base Stations"
Telecom Companies "Not Intentional... Just a Coincidental Encounter"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] It has been revealed that suspicious cases of misconduct occurred at domestic wired and wireless communication quality evaluation sites, where employees belonging to KT and LG Uplus were spotted.

According to data received on the 3rd by Kim Young-joo, a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee from the National Information Society Agency (NIA), a total of seven suspected cases of quality evaluation misconduct were detected over the past three years.

Since 1999, NIA has been conducting quality evaluations of domestic wired and wireless communication services under the Telecommunications Business Act and the Framework Act on Broadcasting and Communications Development. Wireless communication services are measured by professional measurement personnel belonging to outsourced companies commissioned by NIA, who conduct measurements by vehicle or on foot. The evaluations are carried out after NIA and the outsourced professional measurement personnel sign confidentiality agreements regarding the evaluation sites and routes.

Democratic Party of Korea Representative Kim Young-joo Photo by Yonhap News

According to the data obtained by Assemblyman Kim, in July 2020, KT and LG Uplus employees were spotted at a quality evaluation site in Gunsan, Jeonbuk Province, and in October of the same year, LG Uplus mobile base station vehicles were detected on a university campus in Wonju, Gangwon Province, and at the Dongducheon Public Health Center in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province. Kim's office claims these are suspected cases of interference with quality evaluations, such as tailing, jamming signals, and manipulation of download and upload speeds through mobile base station vehicles.

The NIA explained to the Assemblyman's office, "After confirming that there were no major abnormalities such as equipment failure or jamming signals from the mobile carrier employees and vehicles detected as suspected misconduct cases, the quality evaluation was resumed."

Assemblyman Kim said, "I deeply regret the fact that suspected cases of misconduct in communication quality evaluations by mobile carriers were detected on site," and added, "The Ministry of Science and ICT and NIA must establish fundamental measures to prevent recurrence to ensure that mobile carriers do not use unfair methods to receive quality evaluations or deliberately manipulate evaluation results."

On the other hand, KT and LG Uplus, which were pointed out for the issue, explained that it was not intentional but coincidental. An LG Uplus official stated, "When measuring communication quality, the regions are randomly selected, so the company cannot know in advance and take measures." A KT official explained, "About 2,000 people respond to quality outdoors daily, and encountering each other during that process is normal. Wireless staff routinely go out to measure quality."