Opposition Alone Passes 'Kakao Outage Prevention Act' in Science and ICT Committee Subcommittee

National Assembly Building. Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee (STIBC) held a meeting of the Information and Communications Broadcasting Bill Review Subcommittee (Bill Subcommittee 2) on the afternoon of the 15th and passed the so-called "Kakao Outage Prevention Act."

On this day, the STIBC processed the "Kakao Outage Prevention Act" solely by the Democratic Party of Korea amid the absence of People Power Party members due to conflicts over the position of the second vice-chairperson.

The "Kakao Outage Prevention Act" refers to the "Partial Amendment to the Framework Act on Broadcasting and Communications Development" and the "Partial Amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc."

The "Partial Amendment to the Framework Act on Broadcasting and Communications Development" centers on measures to establish redundancy such as data centers for disaster prevention, triggered by the KakaoTalk outage caused by the SK C&C fire last month, and includes expanding the scope of major broadcasting and communications service providers subject to the basic broadcasting disaster management plan to include value-added telecommunications service providers.

The "Partial Amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc." includes provisions requiring reporting the status and measures taken to the Minister of Science and ICT in case information and communication service provision is interrupted due to a disaster.

On this day, People Power Party members of the Bill Subcommittee did not attend the meeting, citing that the Democratic Party unilaterally formed Bill Subcommittee 2. The People Power Party insists that the position of the second vice-chairperson should be held by their party.

Previously, the STIBC repeatedly faced disruptions over the appointment of the floor leader and the second vice-chairperson of Bill Subcommittee 2, and the Democratic Party held a plenary meeting alone to appoint Assemblyman Cho Seung-rae as the second vice-chairperson of Bill Subcommittee 2.

The amendments passed by the Bill Subcommittee on this day are scheduled to undergo review by the STIBC plenary session and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee for system and wording examination before final approval at the National Assembly plenary session.