One Hour Longer Fourth Mobile Carrier Cancellation Hearing... StageX "Sufficient Explanation"

Hearing Held on the 27th in Mapo-gu, Seoul
Took One Hour Longer Than Initially Expected
Final Decision Expected Early Next Month... "Uncertain"

Right after the hearing related to the cancellation of the 4th mobile communication qualification ended, Seo Sang-won, CEO of StageX, said, "Since we ambitiously prepared under the premise of a registration system, we believe we have sufficiently clarified our position."

Seo Sang-won, CEO of StageX, attended the 'StageX Media Day' held on the 7th at Fairmont Ambassador Seoul in Yeouido, Seoul, introducing the 28GHz communication business strategy. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

On the 27th, immediately after the hearing regarding the cancellation of the 28 GHz band mobile communication frequency allocation target corporation held at an undisclosed location in Mapo-gu, Seoul, CEO Seo made this statement. When asked, "Do you think the (cancellation decision) result can change?" he replied, "I am confident that there will be a favorable outcome."

The hearing was presided over by Song Do-young, lead attorney of the law firm Bit. From the Ministry of Science and ICT, Choi Byung-taek, Director of the Radio Policy Bureau, participated, while from StageX, CEO Seo, Lee Dong-hyun, Head of Policy Cooperation Headquarters, and Lee Gil-wook, Director of External Cooperation, took part. Based on the hearing concluded that day, the presiding officer will prepare a transcript and opinion statement and submit them to the Ministry of Science and ICT. Only after the business operator reviews these documents will the final conclusion be reached.

The meeting, which started around 2:30 PM, was initially expected to last about an hour but ended around 4:30 PM, taking longer than anticipated. Attorney Song explained the extended duration by saying, "The purpose of the hearing is to listen as much as possible to what the business operator wants to say," and added, "We will promptly complete the procedures, including the preparation of the transcript, which follows the hearing."

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it would make a final decision by early July, but Attorney Song said, "I cannot give a definite answer" regarding the timing. A Ministry official also stated that it is difficult to specify the timing.

Earlier, on the 14th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the cancellation of StageX's 4th mobile communication qualification, citing the company's failure to fulfill necessary requirements.

Just before the hearing began, StageX issued a statement refuting the government's claims and expressing strong regret over the disposition.

The Ministry pointed out that StageX failed to pay the capital of 205 billion KRW, which was specified in the frequency allocation application, by the 7th of last month. In response, the company stated that it had detailed a specific funding plan in the frequency utilization plan, which was initially submitted on December 19 of last year and supplemented on January 4 of this year.

Regarding the government's claim that StageX violated the pledge by changing the composition of shareholders and stock ownership ratios without Ministry approval, StageX countered, "Each shareholder has not disposed of shares during the period stated in the pledge, and we are faithfully executing the funding plan based on the application documents, including the application form and plan."

StageX also announced that even during the hearing process, if the selection as the frequency allocation target corporation is canceled, it plans to proceed with legal procedures such as filing for suspension of execution.