Schedule Disrupted by Change in Lead Ministry
Announcement for SME-Only T-Commerce Channel Still Uncertain
The government's plan to improve regulations on the home shopping industry, which was originally scheduled to be announced within this year, has effectively been postponed to next year. The Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission had initially intended to unveil the regulatory improvement plan this month. However, the prolonged vacancy in the chairperson position delayed the formation of the commission itself, and a change in the main government department responsible for the policy has led to an internal re-examination of the direction of regulatory improvements. As a result, not only is an announcement within this year unlikely, but there are also concerns that even an announcement in early next year will be difficult.
According to the home shopping industry on December 22, the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission is preparing a "Plan to Strengthen the Competitiveness of the Home Shopping Industry" to revitalize the home shopping market. However, it has been confirmed that the planned announcement for December 2025 is now virtually impossible. An official from the commission stated, "We are currently preparing, but it will be difficult to make an announcement in December," and added, "Since the details have not been finalized internally, it is also difficult to specify an exact timeline."
The plan to strengthen the competitiveness of the home shopping industry was initially handled by the Home Shopping Industry Competitiveness Task Force (TF), which was launched by the Ministry of Science and ICT in June of last year. The plan was to include measures such as the establishment of a dedicated data home shopping (T-commerce) channel for small and medium-sized enterprises, relaxation of T-commerce regulations, easing of home shopping re-approval conditions, and measures for fair distribution of transmission fees. The announcement was scheduled for this year, and an external research project was conducted in December of last year for this purpose. The proposal to establish a dedicated T-commerce channel for small and medium-sized enterprises also drew significant industry attention, as it was included in President Lee Jaemyung's campaign pledges.
The main reasons for the delay in the announcement are the change in the main government department responsible for the policy and delays in forming the commission. On October 1, 2025, the responsibility for home shopping and pay TV policy was transferred from the Ministry of Science and ICT to the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission. The commission is responsible for both broadcasting and telecommunications regulation as well as media promotion, and unlike a ministry led by a minister, it makes policy decisions through consensus among its members. Chairman Kim Jongcheol recently passed his confirmation hearing and took office on December 19. Although most of the staff responsible for the policy have moved to the commission, it has been difficult to make rapid progress due to the commission not operating normally.
Additionally, the issue of regulatory fairness has contributed to the delay. While the Ministry of Science and ICT previously focused on home shopping and pay TV, the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission must also consider overall broadcasting regulations and fairness, including terrestrial and news channels. A commission official explained, "Although there is a consensus on the need to improve low-efficiency regulations, it is not easy to make a bold regulatory relaxation decision for a single industry." This means that even the existing discussion points are inevitably being re-examined internally.
The discussion on establishing a dedicated data home shopping (T-commerce) channel for small and medium-sized enterprises has not even begun. The new T-commerce issue drew attention during the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' work report on December 17, when the president of Public Home Shopping requested, "Please consider us in the process of selecting a new T-commerce channel." However, the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission made it clear that not only has there been no official announcement, but even the institutional design discussions have not yet begun in earnest.
Currently, Public Home Shopping and Home&Shopping are actively pursuing discussions on establishing new T-commerce channels. Although the overall T-commerce market has entered a stagnant phase, these two home shopping companies are seeking to secure stable revenue sources. Since they already operate live home shopping, they can run data home shopping without significant additional investment.
An industry official stated, "Data home shopping involves broadcasting pre-recorded programs, so the production burden is not high, and since the channel numbers are assigned to the back, the burden of transmission fees is also relatively low. As it is difficult to invest in mobile or expand brand businesses, Public Home Shopping appears to have proactively raised this issue during the presidential work report."
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