Mobile Carrier Distribution Association "Discrimination and Coercive Contracts in Carrier Incentives... Filed Complaint with Fair Trade Commission"

"Unfair Practices and Violation of the Mobile Communication Sales Promotion Act, Strong Response Including Filing Complaints with the Fair Trade Commission"

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The National Mobile Telecommunications Distribution Association, composed of mobile carrier agency and retail store owners, announced that it will strongly respond, including filing a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission, against unfair practices by mobile carriers and violations of the Device Distribution Improvement Act (DanTongBeop).

On the 8th, the Mobile Telecommunications Distribution Association issued a statement saying, "The various unfair practices and violations of the Device Distribution Improvement Act by the three major mobile carriers are causing significant problems to the people's communication sovereignty and the general distribution network of the telecommunications market," and added, "We will seek legal judgment on these unfair practices and respond strongly to prevent their recurrence."

The association pointed out that discriminatory incentives by carriers, deceptive acts toward users through individual contracts, and coercive contract terms are taking place. They classified 11 items of unfair practices and 7 items of Device Distribution Improvement Act violations as issues to be resolved.

The association stated, "By strategically discriminating incentives and operating users' device purchase prices by region and time, carriers have delayed users' activation times and degraded the service quality of distribution networks, trampling on the honor of distribution workers for years," and criticized, "The coercive individual contracts that force high-rate plans and additional services and induce maintenance periods have lowered the image of frontline distribution networks to an irreparable level."

The association added, "In a difficult market situation, the current business operators' form of coexistence in 2020 is to induce contract termination through unfair subsidiary contract coercion that maximizes their own profits," and said, "We will also request the Korea Communications Commission to thoroughly supervise the implementation of the coexistence agreement signed on March 15, 2019."

Regarding the coexistence agreement signed last year between the carriers and the association, which has not been properly implemented, the association urged the Fair Trade Commission to investigate unfair practices. The association emphasized, "Unfair practices by the carriers have worsened compared to last year, and on behalf of all distributors, we urge the Fair Trade Commission to immediately conduct a fact-finding and ex officio investigation into the three major carriers."

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