Illegal Spam Hits Record High... KCC Response Criticized as Too Lenient

A Record 361 Million Cases Last Year, While Manpower and Budget Remain Stagnant
Join Chul: "Urgent Need for Practical Measures to Reduce Public Harm"

Join Chul, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Despite illegal spam, which threatens the daily lives of citizens, reaching an all-time high, criticism has been raised that the response from the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the government agency in charge, remains insufficient. Hundreds of billions of won in fines have been left unpaid, and there are growing calls for the KCC to come up with effective countermeasures as soon as possible.

According to data submitted to Join Chul, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Gwangju Seo-gu Gap), by the KCC on October 14, the number of reported illegal spam text messages reached 361.47 million last year, setting a new record. The cumulative number of reports over the past five years has exceeded 700 million, highlighting the severity of the illegal spam problem. Nevertheless, the KCC's response has been criticized as being out of touch with reality.

In particular, the cumulative fines imposed on illegal spam senders have reached nearly 49 billion won, but as of August this year, the collection rate stood at only 3.2% (about 1.6 billion won). Notably, 76% of the outstanding fines have remained unpaid for over ten years, effectively rendering the imposition of fines meaningless. This has led to criticism that the government lacks the will to properly manage and supervise illegal spam activities.

Moreover, the KCC's annual budget for responding to illegal spam has stagnated at an average of 3.2 billion won over the past five years, and the number of personnel has actually decreased from 19 in 2021 to 18 last year. There is growing criticism that both the manpower and budget are woefully insufficient to handle the surging number of illegal spam reports.

The "Sender Qualification Certification System," introduced last year, has also come under scrutiny for its effectiveness, as only 782 out of 1,142 targeted companies have completed certification, and some certified companies have continued to send illegal spam.

These issues were already pointed out in an audit report by the Board of Audit and Inspection. In July last year, the Board criticized the KCC for its inadequate management of illegal spam blocking, noting that similar countermeasures established in 2021 had not led to meaningful improvements.

Join Chul emphasized, "Illegal spam is a serious crime that directly causes harm to citizens through gambling, investment scams, impersonation, and prostitution. Since previous responses have been lacking, the newly established KCC must make efforts to develop effective measures to substantially reduce the damage suffered by the public."