Promised Deregulation... ICT Innovation Bill Once Again Stalled in the National Assembly

[Asia Economy reporters Seulgina Jo and Aeri Boo] ICT innovation bills aimed at leaping forward in the 4th Industrial Revolution era have once again come to a halt in front of the National Assembly. The abolition of the telecommunications fee approval system, which has been criticized as an outdated regulation by both ruling and opposition parties, has not even been properly discussed. Moreover, even the long-awaited bills that barely passed the National Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee (STIBC) now face uncertain approval in the plenary session. As the power struggle between the ruling and opposition parties continues, concerns are mounting that the pending bills will be sequentially discarded.

◆ STIBC halted due to ruling-opposition clash= According to the National Assembly and related industries on the last day of the temporary session on the 17th, lawmakers from the United Future Party boycotted the remaining schedule, citing problems with the bill processing in the STIBC on the 5th. As a result, the full STIBC meetings as well as the Legislative and Judiciary Committee meetings were virtually canceled until the April general election. As the 20th National Assembly’s term nears its end, there are a total of 759 bills pending in the STIBC.

The amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, which includes abolishing the fee approval system and extending the mandatory period for wholesale rates of MVNO networks, was expected to pass smoothly as it is an issue without partisan disagreement. However, on the 5th, the bill failed to be placed on the agenda for a plenary session due to reasons such as combined review of amendments, leading to its failure. The approval system requires government approval before launching fees and has been criticized as an unnecessary administrative procedure that hinders competition among operators. Currently, bills to abolish the approval system have been proposed by the government with a reservation notification system, as well as by lawmakers Kim Seong-tae (United Future Party), Byun Jae-il (Democratic Party), and Park Seon-sook (Minsaeng Party), respectively.

The combined regulation on paid broadcasting has also not seen follow-up discussions for nearly two years after its sunset. The combined regulation targeting KT restricts any single operator from exceeding one-third of the paid broadcasting market share. With domestic telecom companies consecutively engaging in paid broadcasting mergers and acquisitions (M&A) last year, urgent reconsideration is needed.

Additionally, 75% of the 1,008 bills submitted to the STIBC over the past four years, including amendments to the Information and Communications Network Act aimed at resolving reverse discrimination between global companies like Google and domestic internet companies, remain pending. The related industry views May as the last chance, but if things continue as they are, the bills will inevitably be discarded due to the end of the term.

An STIBC official said, "It is difficult to operate the standing committee around the general election, and currently it is also hard to gain cooperation from the opposition for holding STIBC meetings," adding, "We can only expect to hold a full meeting in May at the earliest." The STIBC has not convened even once this year before the full meeting on the 5th. The last full meeting was on December 23 last year, and the last bill review subcommittee meeting was on December 30 last year (2nd subcommittee).

◆ Uncertainty also looms over the Legislative and Judiciary Committee= The future of ICT innovation bills that have passed the standing committee is also uncertain. On the 5th, the STIBC passed amendments to the Software Industry Promotion Act, the Electronic Signature Act, and the National Informatization Basic Act. However, the opposition parties have strongly opposed STIBC Chairman Noh Woong-rae’s decision to place these bills on the agenda without the bill subcommittee procedure. Whether the next step, the Legislative and Judiciary Committee meeting, will be held is also unclear. The industry had expected the committee to convene before the plenary session on the 17th, but it has not been scheduled even by that date.

A Legislative and Judiciary Committee official said, "There has been no schedule agreement between the ruling and opposition parties yet," adding, "It seems practically difficult to process the bills in the committee within this temporary session." An industry insider said, "Even if the Legislative and Judiciary Committee meets, it will be difficult to pass the bills while United Future Party lawmakers in the STIBC are boycotting due to procedural issues," and criticized, "The long-awaited bills that could serve as the foundation for the 4th Industrial Revolution appear to be hampered by politics."

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