Ministry of Science and Seoul City Pole Dispute... 'Conflict of Laws'

Ministry of Science and ICT and Industry: "Violation of Telecommunication Service... Illegal Matters"
Seoul City: "Public Interest to Bridge Information Gap for Vulnerable Groups"
Escalating Conflict Over Local Governments' Independent Private Networks
Contradictory Legal Interpretations with No Common Ground... Uncertain Prospects for Agreement

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Seoul Metropolitan Government are engaged in a dispute over utility poles (communication poles). The issue began when Seoul City attempted to use utility poles to provide public Wi-Fi services. The Ministry of Science and ICT holds a negative stance, claiming that Seoul’s Wi-Fi network construction violates the "Telecommunications Business Act." On the other hand, Seoul City argues that the Ministry should cooperate based on the "Smart City Innovation Act." This dispute over utility poles between the Ministry and Seoul City fundamentally involves a "conflict of laws."

◆ Ministry of Science and ICT: "Illegal" VS Seoul City: "Legal" = According to industry sources and related government departments on the 9th, the Ministry of Science and ICT and Seoul City will hold a director-level meeting this week to continue discussions on public Wi-Fi. Although both sides have held several meetings, they have yet to find common ground regarding Seoul City’s use of utility poles to provide public Wi-Fi services. Until last year, Seoul City either paid communication companies for line fees to provide Wi-Fi networks or connected Wi-Fi routers (APs) to Seoul City’s own communication network established for CCTV and other purposes to offer services. However, conflicts began this year when Seoul decided to operate its own public Wi-Fi network. To build the Wi-Fi network, fiber optic cables must be laid and routers connected, and Seoul City requested communication companies to lend utility poles.

However, communication companies are opposed to Seoul City independently building a Wi-Fi network. This is because communication companies, which already provide their own Wi-Fi services, have decided they cannot provide utility poles to Seoul City, which offers the same service. Above all, this conflict has escalated into a "conflict of laws," with both sides citing different laws to support their opposing claims. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the telecommunications industry point out that Seoul City’s plan violates Article 7 of the Telecommunications Business Act, which prohibits the use of networks by unspecified multiple parties.

Professor Kim Hyun-kyung of the IT Policy Graduate School at Seoul National University of Science and Technology said, "Since this is a project built with tax money, it cannot be considered 'free' Wi-Fi," and added, "In that respect, there is a possibility of legal violation." The telecommunications industry is also concerned that Seoul City’s unilateral Wi-Fi network construction conflicts with the existing system, which grants network operation rights to licensed telecommunications service providers and coordinates regulations and progress accordingly. An industry insider remarked, "A local government’s unilateral Wi-Fi network is nonsense," and criticized, "There are also doubts about the local government’s ability to operate it safely, considering hacking and personal information leaks." Another insider expressed reluctance, saying, "With communication companies operating about 400,000 Wi-Fi networks nationwide, is there a need for local governments to make redundant investments using taxpayers’ money?"

◆ Will it affect the Digital New Deal? = On the other hand, Seoul City insists there is no legal problem based on the "Smart City Act (Act on the Promotion of Smart Cities and Industry)." A Seoul City official explained, "The self-network construction project utilizes existing resources and facilities and minimizes budget to expand citizens’ basic communication rights and welfare," adding, "Not only the Smart City Act but also Article 31 of the Informatization Promotion Act includes policies to bridge the information gap, and the Basic Act on Broadcasting and Communications Development and the Local Government Act also specify the right to receive services equally."

Some are paying close attention to whether this dispute will affect the "Digital New Deal" emphasized by President Moon Jae-in. The government’s Digital New Deal plan includes building about 41,000 public Wi-Fi spots by 2022. Professor Shin Min-soo of Hanyang University’s Business School said, "If local governments lead public Wi-Fi projects, there could be issues regarding how to recover the invested funds," and added, "Especially, special provisions related to self-networks often conflict with the existing Telecommunications Business Act. Both sides need to find common ground through discussions."

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