"Request for Cooperation in Broadcasting Impeachment Rally... Broadcasters Send Official Letter to Telecom Companies"

Broadcasting Association Requests Mobile Carriers to "Prepare for Traffic Overload"
Live Coverage of Rally Faces Difficulties Due to Traffic Surge
Civilians Also Experience Communication Disruptions... Mobile Carriers Promise "Minimized Inconvenience"

As communication traffic concentrated in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido due to the candlelight rally for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol, broadcasting stations reportedly sent cooperation letters to the three major mobile carriers. This was because the communication capacity was insufficient compared to the demand, causing difficulties in relay broadcasting. Citizens attending the rally also complained about delays in communication services, prompting the three carriers to plan to strengthen networks in key areas within this week.

On the evening of the 7th, citizens gathered at Yeouido Park in Seoul, shouting impeachment slogans as the impeachment vote against President Yoon Suk-yeol was underway. Photo by Heo Young-han

According to the industry on the 11th, the Korea Broadcasting Association sent a letter to the three mobile carriers (SKT, KT, LG Uplus) the day before, requesting them to prepare for traffic overload to prevent relay broadcasts from being interrupted. The association includes 39 terrestrial broadcasters such as KBS, MBC, SBS, EBS, and CBS as member companies.

This is because the mobile communication network near the impeachment-related rally site was overloaded, making it difficult to use MNG (mobile news gathering) systems such as live broadcasting on-site. At the candlelight rally held in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, as of 5:30 PM on the 7th, the organizers, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, estimated about 1 million people, while the police unofficially estimated 149,000 people gathered.

Not only broadcasting relay but also citizens experienced inconvenience due to traffic delays. On the same day around 6 PM, Mr. Lee (37, male), who participated in the Yeouido candlelight rally, said, "I got off at Yeouido Station and walked, but when I passed Yeouido Park, my phone reception was poor," adding, "Sending photos was almost impossible, and sending messages was intermittent." He continued, "I planned to meet an acquaintance on-site, but KakaoTalk usage was restricted, which was inconvenient," and "I also tried to watch real-time news, but it was not easy to view."

Ms. Kang (28, female), who also participated in the rally on the same day, said, "I arrived in Yeouido at 3:30 PM and could not properly use my phone for a total of six hours until 9:30 PM," adding, "Texts did not arrive on time, so my frustrated family called me, but even that was hard to hear."

The three mobile carriers plan to take stronger measures than last weekend to minimize inconvenience caused by traffic delays. An SKT official said, "We are strengthening on-site analysis and monitoring of the rally situation," adding, "Along with optimizing existing equipment, we plan to minimize customer inconvenience by opening additional base stations and increasing deployment of mobile base stations."

KT also plans to open additional mobile base stations depending on the crowd, and LG Uplus will estimate the rally scale and deploy mobile base stations and expand equipment in areas expected to be crowded.