The three telecom companies have taken a cautious stance, stating that they will make a judgment after receiving the resolution document regarding the Fair Trade Commission's sanctions on unfair advertising practices related to 5G.
On the 24th, the Fair Trade Commission decided to impose corrective orders, public announcement orders, and provisional fines totaling 33.6 billion KRW on SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus for unfair advertising practices. The fines imposed by the Fair Trade Commission this time are the second largest ever in cases related to advertising.
Speed Comparison Advertisement Poster of the Three Major Telecom Companies Photo by Korea Fair Trade Commission
The Fair Trade Commission identified three major violations. First, advertising 5G technology’s standard target speed of 20Gbps?which cannot be realized in actual usage environments?as if it were actually available, such as claiming speeds "20 times faster than LTE." Second, advertising the maximum supported speed achievable only under assigned frequency bands and strict conditions as if it were actually accessible. Third, advertising that their 5G service speeds were faster than competitors’ without objective evidence.
The three telecom companies have not yet received the resolution document from the Fair Trade Commission. They plan to review the detailed contents after receiving it. However, there are voices expressing regret over the decision that it constitutes a legal violation despite explaining that the speeds were theoretical, not actual. The theoretical maximum speeds of 5G and LTE are 20Gbps and 1Gbps, respectively. The companies simply calculated and expressed this as being 20 times faster.
SKT stated, "Although the advertisement faithfully explained that the speeds were theoretical according to the characteristics of communication technology, we deeply regret this decision judging it as a legal violation. We will review whether to respond as soon as we receive the Fair Trade Commission’s resolution document." They added, "SKT will continue to strive to provide consumers with accurate and useful information."
KT said, "We will review the detailed contents once we receive the resolution document from the Fair Trade Commission." LG Uplus stated, "Since we have not received the resolution document from the Fair Trade Commission, we will examine and review the specific contents of the resolution later."
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