TV License Fee to Be Paid Separately from Electricity Bill Starting the 12th
Three Months Needed to Prepare for Separate Billing and Collection
Separate Payment Possible Upon Individual Request During Preparation Period
From the 12th, it will be possible to pay electricity bills and TV license fees separately. However, to pay the electricity bill and TV license fee separately, apartment residents must apply for separate payment at the management office, while individual households such as detached houses must apply for separate payment at Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 11th that the partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Broadcasting Act, which requires TV license fees to be billed and collected separately from electricity bills, was approved at the Cabinet meeting held on the same day. The amended enforcement decree will be promulgated and enforced on the 12th.
According to the Broadcasting Act, citizens who own a television receiver pay a monthly TV license fee of 2,500 won, which is currently collected on consignment by KEPCO. Until now, the TV license fee was collected and paid together with the electricity bill. In the case of collective buildings such as apartments, electricity bills and TV license fees were charged together as part of the management fees. However, following the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Broadcasting Act, it will now be possible to pay electricity bills and TV license fees separately.
However, for KEPCO to completely separate the billing and collection of TV license fees from electricity bills through consultations with KBS and others, a preparation period of about three months is required to establish the infrastructure for bill production and dispatch, and to improve the payment system. Therefore, until KEPCO establishes a complete separate collection system, integrated billing will continue as before, but customers who wish to do so can pay the TV license fee separately.
Residents other than those in apartments must apply for separate payment to KEPCO. Customers who pay via credit card or automatic transfer from a deposit account can apply for separate payment up to four days before the payment deadline, and only the electricity bill excluding the TV license fee will be automatically withdrawn. Customers who pay manually rather than by automatic transfer can pay the electricity bill and TV license fee separately by applying for separate payment to KEPCO.
Residents of collective buildings (such as apartments) where electricity bills and license fees are combined and billed on the management fee statement rather than the electricity bill must apply for separate payment of the TV license fee and management fee to the management office or other management entity. Until now, payments were made collectively under the name of management fees, but from now on, it will be possible to pay only the management fees excluding the TV license fee.
KEPCO plans to guide and request cooperation from the management entities of collective buildings to separately bill and collect electricity bills and TV license fees for each individual household. If the management entity independently establishes a method to collect TV license fees separately, individual households in apartments and the like will also be able to pay the TV license fee separately.
To prevent inconvenience and confusion among the public, KEPCO will provide information on the transitional separate payment method through electricity bill statements issued from the 12th, its website, and mobile app (KEPCO:ON). In addition, 100 specialized counselors will be deployed to guide customers on how to pay separately. After this transitional period, once preparations for complete separate billing and collection of TV license fees are completed, citizens will be able to receive separate TV license fee bills and pay the TV license fee separately as early as October.
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