800 Million Spam Messages in the First Half of the Year... Korea Communications Commission to "Push for Triple Increase in Fines"

Spam Texts Including Gambling, Stock Investment, and Loan Solicitations
Increase of 27% Compared to Previous Half-Year
Low Fines for Intermediate Agencies Raise Effectiveness Concerns
Current Limit Under 10 Million Won to Be Raised to Under 30 Million Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] "Congratulations, you have been invited to the free rapid rise information room."

Yoo (32), a 30-something office worker, is struggling with 2 to 3 daily text messages promoting gambling, stock investment, and loans. He immediately deletes illegal spam texts containing Open KakaoTalk (Okabang) invitation links or unknown internet addresses, fearing accidental clicks.

With nearly 8 million spam texts recorded in the first half of this year, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) announced plans to improve regulations within the year. In particular, regarding mass messaging services, the maximum fine for intermediaries caught sending illegal spam will be raised from the current 10 million KRW to strengthen regulations on middlemen.

According to the KCC on the 4th, 7.99 million spam texts were recorded in the first half of 2022, an increase of 1.65 million (26.5%) compared to the previous half-year. Spam texts, which reached 6.32 million in the first half of 2018 five years ago, had remained in the high 6 million range but showed an increasing trend after COVID-19, recently surging sharply.

Currently, 95% of spam texts are distributed through mass messaging services. Specialized agencies contract with illegal loan or gambling companies, rent communication networks, and send texts on their behalf. Notably, 85% of these texts are sent domestically, not from overseas.

Amid the flood of spam texts, the KCC plans to revise the Information and Communications Network Act within the year to enhance the effectiveness of spam regulations. Government agencies including the KCC and Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) formed a research team on spam law revision in January this year, involving experts from academia and the legal field, to prepare for the amendment.

The amendment is expected to include raising the penalty level for information and communication service providers' obligations to prevent illegal spam transmission. Under current law, mass messaging companies are considered to have refused to take action when illegal spam is detected. In fact, sanctions through regional broadcasting and communication offices under the KCC have been imposed on 18 companies just this year.

However, criticism has been raised that the fines for mass messaging operators are too low to be effective. Although companies specify in their terms of use not to employ their services for illegal spam, there is a lack of actual efforts to devise countermeasures. Therefore, raising the fine from under 10 million KRW to a range allowing up to 30 million KRW is being considered. Additionally, imposing even higher fines beyond 30 million KRW is actively under review.

A KCC official stated, "Besides legal amendments, we plan to conduct on-site inspections related to mass messaging services and review specific countermeasures. The amendment has not been finalized between government and parliamentary proposals, but we aim to push it forward within the second half of the year."