"Reducing Communication Costs for Youth"... Democratic Party Pledge, Telecom Industry Says "Well..."

On the morning of the 15th, Cho Jung-sik, the Policy Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, is discussing the plan to expand free Wi-Fi nationwide, the first pledge of the 21st National Assembly election, at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The Democratic Party of Korea proposed the 'Public Wi-Fi Expansion Policy' as its first pledge for the April 15 general election, aiming to reduce data communication costs for young people in their 20s and 30s as well as households. However, the telecommunications industry expressed doubts about whether this pledge will effectively reduce communication costs for the youth.

A telecommunications industry official told Asia Economy on the same day, "As smartphone usage has become widespread, a significant number of customers are using unlimited data plans," adding, "While public Wi-Fi may benefit low-cost plan subscribers or vulnerable groups, it is unlikely to have a significant effect on young people such as students or office workers."

Another official said, "It is difficult to comment as no specific project implementation plan has been announced," but added, "Considering the substantial investments already made in building 5G networks, if public Wi-Fi is expanded, there is concern about additional costs related to device installation and maintenance."

On the same day, the Democratic Party held a general election pledge announcement ceremony at the National Assembly, presided over by party leader Lee Hae-chan, and proposed a plan to establish about 53,000 public Wi-Fi spots nationwide by 2022, including in transportation facilities such as buses and terminals, as well as museums and traditional markets.

Leader Lee Hae-chan stated, "As we move into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, data usage is increasing significantly. Our goal is to minimize the burden on citizens and data communication blind spots so that all citizens can enjoy the data economy." Democratic Party Policy Committee Chair Cho Jung-sik said, "In this general election, we will expand and establish 'safe public Wi-Fi' across the country to open the 'nationwide free Wi-Fi era,'" adding, "We promise to open the 'zero-won (0 won) data communication cost' or 'Debbang era' where data communication costs are free anywhere."

The Policy Committee estimated that establishing about 53,000 additional public Wi-Fi spots will cost approximately 48 billion won this year, 260 billion won next year, and 270 billion won in 2022, totaling 578 billion won. Chair Cho said regarding the costs of policy implementation, "We will negotiate with the government to significantly expand government investment and support."

A telecommunications industry official said, "In the case of existing public Wi-Fi installations, local governments issued the projects, and either the local governments bore the related costs or shared them with telecommunications operators," adding, "Since the current pledge announced by the political circles does not provide specific implementation plans, we need to observe the progress carefully."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.