Special Disaster Areas for Heavy Rainfall to Receive Communication Fee Reductions

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The government will reduce communication fees and radio usage charges for local governments declared as special disaster areas due to heavy rainfall. The support target areas include 67 local governments such as Gokseong-gun in Jeollanam-do, Namwon-si in Jeollabuk-do, Icheon-si in Gyeonggi-do, Hwacheon-gun in Gangwon-do, and Danyang-gun in Chungcheongbuk-do, which were declared special disaster areas on the 7th, 13th, and 24th of this month.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced a support plan for special disaster areas focusing on 'communication fee reduction.' First, communication service fees such as landline phones, mobile phones, and high-speed internet, as well as paid broadcasting service fees such as IPTV and cable TV in these areas will be reduced.

Communication service fees will be reduced by KRW 12,500 for one representative mobile phone line per household affected in special disaster areas rated 1 to 90. 100% of the monthly subscription fees for local and internet phones and 50% of the monthly subscription fees for high-speed internet will be reduced. Paid broadcasting services will autonomously set the reduction rate at 50% or more, and one month's fee will be discounted accordingly.

Additionally, radio usage fees for wireless stations established in these areas will be fully waived for six months as part of disaster recovery support. A total of 4,409 people (33,084 wireless stations) are expected to benefit from the radio usage fee reduction. The Ministry of Science and ICT will send notices in September reflecting the reduced amount in the bills for the third and fourth quarters of this year. Eligible recipients can receive the reduction benefits without a separate application.

Jang Seok-young, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “We will do our best to actively implement support such as radio usage fee and communication and paid broadcasting fee reductions for special disaster areas to help the citizens affected by the heavy rainfall even a little.”

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