Court Orders Disclosure of 5G Cost Data Information

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The court has once again ruled that the government must disclose the cost data for 5G.

The Administrative Division 6-3 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Baek Seung-yeop, Hwang Ui-dong, and Wi Gwang-ha) on the 29th ruled partially in favor of the plaintiff, the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, in the second trial of the lawsuit seeking cancellation of the Ministry of Science and ICT’s refusal to disclose 5G approval and cost data, maintaining the first trial’s decision.

Although the court did not disclose the reasons for the ruling in court, since both parties’ appeals were dismissed, it appears that the first trial’s judgment was upheld.

Last year, the first trial ordered the disclosure of 40 out of 54 pieces of 5G cost data, including investment plans, subscriber numbers, sales figures, and traffic.

The first trial court stated, "Mobile communication services need to be provided at fair and reasonable prices, which is recognized as a public interest," and added, "It is necessary to transparently disclose whether the state’s supervisory and regulatory authority is being properly exercised for this purpose."

Earlier, the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy requested the Ministry of Science and ICT in April 2019 to disclose the basis data for 5G cost calculation, but the government redacted a significant portion of information directly related to 5G fee calculation and only disclosed some information. Consequently, the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy filed a lawsuit seeking cancellation of the refusal to disclose information against the government.

After the ruling, the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy commented, "The Ministry of Science and ICT and SK Telecom have been delaying disclosure of related data even though 5G service has been commercialized for five years," and stated, "The Ministry of Science and ICT should no longer waste time with meaningless trials and must immediately disclose at least the information that the first and second trials have ordered to be disclosed."