Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission and CEOs of the Three Major Telecom Companies to Discuss Measures to Reduce Communication Costs on the 22nd

Kim Hong-il, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, will meet with the representatives of the three major mobile carriers to discuss ways to reduce household communication expenses.

Kim Hong-il, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC)
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the Korea Communications Commission and the telecommunications industry on the 10th, Chairman Kim will meet with Yoo Sang-young, President of SK Telecom, Kim Young-seop, CEO of KT, and Hwang Hyun-sik, President of LG Uplus, at the Government Complex Gwacheon on the 22nd. This will be Chairman Kim's first meeting with them since his appointment.

They are expected to discuss how to practically reduce communication fees following the revision of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Improvement of Distribution Structure for Mobile Communication Terminals (the Mobile Device Distribution Act). It has been reported that executives from device manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and Apple Korea are also coordinating their attendance.

Earlier, the Korea Communications Commission announced a policy to liberalize subsidy competition through the complete abolition of the Mobile Device Distribution Act, expressing its intention to reduce the burden on citizens purchasing devices. However, since the abolition of the Act will take time to pass through the National Assembly, the Enforcement Decree was partially revised to create conditions that can activate marketing competition among carriers even before the law is repealed.

The revised Enforcement Decree, recently passed at the Cabinet meeting, allows subsidies to be provided according to the Korea Communications Commission's notification standards, considering the costs borne by users when changing mobile carriers and the expected profits of operators. The Korea Communications Commission has also announced an administrative notice to establish subsidy payment standards (notification) for mobile carrier switching support funds, allowing mobile phone carrier switching subsidies of up to 500,000 won under the revised Enforcement Decree of the Mobile Device Distribution Act.