AI User Damage Relief Organization to Be Established... Broadcasting Commission Considering Formation

KCC Announces Research Project for Establishing Integrated
Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Agency Covering Telecom, Online, and AI Sectors
Increase in Dispute Cases... Growing Need for Organizational Structuring

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) is reportedly considering the establishment of an integrated damage relief organization for the telecommunications, online, and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors. The purpose is to consolidate the operations of individual damage relief organizations into a single entity to systematically protect users.

According to the national comprehensive electronic procurement system, Nara Market, on the 14th, the KCC recently announced a call for proposals for the 'Broadcasting and Communications Convergence Policy Research Regular Task Execution Institution' and has reissued a bid for a research project on the establishment plan of the telecommunications, online, and AI damage relief organization tentatively named the 'Korea Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Agency (provisional name, hereinafter referred to as the Mediation Agency).' The initial bid deadline was on the 7th, but since there was only a single bidder, the announcement was reissued. A KCC official stated, "The direction and plan have not been firmly decided yet, but we proposed the research project for review."

The KCC presented the research tasks to include ▲ plans for establishing a support organization for telecommunications and online service damage relief operations ▲ enhancing user accessibility to damage relief agencies ▲ forming a government-wide consultative body of related agencies concerning telecommunications and online damage relief ▲ legal and institutional improvement plans for the establishment and operation of damage relief organizations ▲ and plans to establish a dedicated reporting window for AI-related user damage.

The reason the KCC is considering the Mediation Agency is to build an organization that can respond more systematically to disputes in telecommunications, online, and AI sectors. Currently, the KCC has damage relief organizations such as the Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Mediation Committee) and the Online365 Center (hereinafter referred to as the Online Center), but the support work for telecommunications and online damage, including administrative tasks, is handled by the KCC’s Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Team, which consists of six members. The Mediation Committee is an organization that mediates disputes arising between users and telecommunications service providers to reach agreements between parties. The Online Damage Center provides specialized counseling services and user damage support to address damages occurring online. This review plan is interpreted as an effort to further specify the personnel and organizational structure to enhance the efficiency of damage relief operations.

In fact, as damages related to telecommunications, online, and AI increase, the need for a systematic damage relief organization is growing. The number of telecommunications dispute mediation applications steadily increased from 155 cases in June 2019 to 572 cases in 2020, 1,170 cases in 2021, and recorded 1,259 cases last year. The Online Center recorded 640 counseling cases from June to December 2022 since its establishment, and last year, the number was tallied at 1,181 cases.

AI-based damages online, such as deepfakes, have also surfaced. Recently, celebrities including instructor Kim Mi-kyung, comedian Song Eun-i, and John Lee, former CEO of Meritz Asset Management, exposed phishing scams using deepfake videos as YouTube advertisements. A KCC official emphasized the necessity of an AI damage relief organization, stating, "It is necessary to view AI not only from the perspective of technology and industry but also from the human perspective." Earlier, the KCC announced in its annual work plan that it would establish an AI service damage reporting window within the Online Center.

Whether the Mediation Agency will include overall operational support functions, counseling, and dispute mediation functions is expected to be specified after the research. However, legal amendments are necessary for the Mediation Agency to become an active dispute mediation organization. Professor Hong Sung-geol of the Department of Public Administration at Kookmin University said, "In the case of advisory committees, they can be established through enforcement decrees or internal guidelines of ministries, but if it affects the government's regulatory and management duties, it must become a statutory organization through legislation."