"Mandatory Monthly 20,000 KRW Communication Fee" Universal Rate Plan Revival... To Be Discussed in the 21st National Assembly

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The Ministry of Science and ICT is submitting a bill to the National Assembly that includes the introduction of a universal tariff plan.

On the 30th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, which includes the establishment and operation of information systems related to universal services (Article 4), supplementation of the public interest review system (Article 10), and the basis for introducing a universal tariff plan (Article 28), was approved at the Cabinet meeting and will be submitted to the National Assembly.

The universal tariff plan is a system that allows citizens to use mobile communication services fairly and affordably by providing basic levels of voice and data at reasonable rates. For example, it mandates that the market-dominant operator (SK Telecom) must offer a plan with 1 gigabyte (GB) of data and 200 minutes of voice calls for around 20,000 KRW per month.

The government previously submitted the Telecommunications Business Act, which laid the foundation for introducing the universal tariff plan, to the National Assembly in June 2018, but it was discarded due to the expiration of the 20th National Assembly session. This time, the government has reintroduced the bill to the 21st National Assembly. The Ministry of Science and ICT stated that since the legislative process within the government was completed through the Cabinet meeting approval, it plans to sincerely engage in the National Assembly's discussion process going forward.

The universal tariff plan is a system designed to allow anyone to use mobile communication services fairly and affordably at reasonable rates by providing basic levels of voice and data. It was proposed in June 2017 by the National Policy Planning Advisory Committee as an alternative to the presidential pledge to abolish the basic fee. Subsequently, it went through discussions in the social deliberation body, the Household Communication Expense Policy Council, approval by the Regulatory Reform Committee, and Cabinet approval before being submitted to the National Assembly in June 2018, but it did not pass during the 20th National Assembly.

The amendment also includes provisions for establishing related systems and designating entrusted organizations for universal service-related information systems to provide stable and efficient fee reduction services to people with disabilities and low-income groups. The amendment also includes measures to supplement the system, such as requiring a public interest review if foreigners intend to own more than 49% of a telecommunications company's shares. The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "The government-submitted bill, which was discarded due to the expiration of the 20th National Assembly session, has been reintroduced to the 21st National Assembly," and added, "We will sincerely engage in the National Assembly's discussion process going forward."

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