Democratic Party Announces Plan to Abolish 'Terminal Distribution Act'
Lee: "Park Geun-hye Government's Terminal Distribution Act Harmed All Citizens"
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "The Democratic Party will promptly repeal the controversial Device Distribution Act (Dantongbeop)." If the repeal bill passes within this year, the Dantongbeop will lose its power after 10 years since its introduction in 2014.
The Dantongbeop was introduced in 2014 under the pretext of improving the distribution structure of devices. When device sellers such as mobile phone vendors provided subsidies to customers unevenly, the law limited the public subsidy to only 15%. This was intended to eliminate discriminatory factors among customers and to escape the wasteful subsidy competition among mobile carriers. However, after the implementation of the Dantongbeop, the subsidy benefits applied to consumers were leveled down, and illegal subsidy payments also became rampant. Although the law was amended to allow public subsidies up to 30%, the Democratic Party has mentioned 'repeal.'
On the morning of the 19th, at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, Lee said, "Household communication expenses are said to approach an average of 130,000 won per month," adding, "Recently, the burden is increasing due to high-priced communication devices." He continued, "A situation has occurred where the 'right to communication,' which can be considered a basic right of the people, is effectively being infringed," emphasizing, "We will promptly process the repeal bill of the Dantongbeop so that the device market can be normalized and the benefits can return to the people through price reductions via competition."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 19th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
He claimed, "Since the Dantongbeop was implemented during the Park Geun-hye administration, the entire nation has actually suffered," and argued, "Rather than reducing communication costs, it has only produced various side effects due to expensive devices." Lee also requested cooperation from the government and the ruling party. He criticized, "President Yoon Suk-yeol promised to repeal the Dantongbeop at the livelihood discussion meeting last January," adding, "But nothing has changed even though almost half a year has passed." Furthermore, he added, "The government and the ruling party should actively cooperate, not just talk."
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