Daegu·Gyeongbuk Communication Fees Likely to Receive 50,000 Won Discount Per Household

Declaration of Special Disaster Area for Novel Coronavirus Infection
Implementation of Communication Fee Reduction Measures...Reduction of Wired and Wireless Communication Charges
Expected Measures Include Basic Fee Deduction, Late Payment Grace, and Data Call Fee Provision

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] As the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions have been declared special disaster zones due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), communication fee reduction measures will be implemented for residents in these areas.

The telecommunications industry expects that wireless communication fees will be temporarily reduced by up to 12,500 KRW for residents identified as "victims," along with basic fee reductions for wired services such as high-speed internet and IPTV. Accordingly, affected households are expected to be exempted from communication fees amounting to around 50,000 KRW.

According to the industry on the 17th, the Ministry of Science and ICT will finalize the targets, timing, and scale of communication fee reductions for the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, which have been designated as special disaster zones due to COVID-19, within this week. A Ministry of Science and ICT official stated, "Once the Ministry of the Interior and Safety specifies the victims, the targets and scale of communication fee reductions will be determined based on that," adding, "The reduction scale will be decided considering precedents such as MERS and the Gangwon wildfires."

Summarizing the statements from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the industry, measures such as deducting one month's basic fee, waiving late payment penalties, and fee reductions around 12,500 KRW are expected to be promoted. In fact, when the Pohang earthquake in 2017 and the Gangwon wildfires in 2019 occurred, these areas were designated as special disaster zones, and communication fees were reduced by up to 12,500 KRW depending on the disaster grade (1 to 90).

Although not declared a special disaster zone, considering the precedent of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), there is also a possibility of full exemption of wired and wireless communication fees and provision of unlimited data services for confirmed patients or those in quarantine. There is also discussion of deferring communication fee payments for the months of February and March, when COVID-19 damage was severe. A telecommunications industry official said, "Since this is a disaster caused by an infectious disease, the scope of victims will affect the extent and scale of fee reductions by telecom companies."

Meanwhile, the government will implement relief or payment deferral measures not only for communication fees but also for national and local taxes, health insurance premiums, pension insurance premiums, and electricity bills in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions declared as special disaster zones. Separately, the Ministry of Science and ICT will fully waive radio usage fees for wireless stations established in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions until the end of June.

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