[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The number of 5G communication dispute applications more than doubled last year.
The Korea Communications Commission announced the 2022 communication dispute mediation results of the Communication Dispute Mediation Committee on the 20th. The Communication Dispute Mediation Committee received a total of 1,060 communication dispute mediation applications, processed 835 cases, and resolved 692 cases, accounting for 82.9%, through agreements or acceptance.
In terms of the number of communication dispute applications in the wireless sector, KT had the highest with 316 cases (39.2%), and KT also had the highest number of applications per 100,000 subscribers at 1.8 cases. In the wired sector, KT had the most with 106 cases (41.7%), while LG Uplus and SK Broadband had the highest number of applications per 100,000 subscribers, each with 1.0 case.
By type of communication dispute application (both wired and wireless), contract-related issues accounted for the largest share at 43.9%, followed by important information explanation and notification-related issues at 40.2%, service quality-related issues at 11.1%, and others at 4.8%. Looking only at the wireless sector, important information explanation and notification-related issues were the most common at 46.9%, while in the wired sector, contract-related issues were the most frequent at 75.6%.
5G communication dispute applications increased significantly from 245 cases in 2021 to 526 cases in 2022. Applications related to communication service quality disputes decreased from 223 cases in 2021 to 118 cases in 2022.
The communication dispute resolution rate (both wired and wireless) rose by 7.3 percentage points from 75.6% in 2021 to 82.9% in 2022. The wireless sector saw an increase of 9.5 percentage points (from 72.6% to 82.9%), and the wired sector increased by 2.6 percentage points (from 82.8% to 85.4%).
The 5G communication dispute resolution rate increased by 23.2 percentage points from 58.7% in 2021 to 81.9% in 2022. The communication service quality dispute resolution rate remained similar, at 53.4% in 2021 and 52.7% in 2022.
By operator, KT had the highest communication dispute resolution rate in the wireless sector at 85.6%, followed by LG Uplus at 79.8% and SK Telecom (SKT) at 76.2%. In the wired sector, LG Uplus had the highest rate at 87.5%, followed by SK Broadband at 87.2%, KT at 83.5%, and SKT at 75.0%. The 5G communication dispute resolution rates by operator were KT at 85.4%, LG Uplus at 82.3%, and SKT at 77.2%.
The Communication Dispute Mediation Committee plans to recommend self-regulation efforts to operators in cases that harm users' interests, such as false notification of device subsidies, coercion to use expensive plans, and omission of service termination.
Han Sang-hyuk, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, stated, “The Communication Dispute Mediation Committee must serve as a reliable stepping stone that the public can trust,” and added, “We will further contribute to enhancing public benefits through prompt and effective dispute mediation.”
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