Assemblyman Jo Seung-rae Proposes 'Public Wi-Fi Activation Act' as Main Sponsor

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Legal grounds to support the provision and activation of public Wi-Fi usage will be established.

On the 14th, according to the industry, Assemblyman Cho Seung-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea (Daejeon Yuseong-gu Gap) proposed a bill titled "Act on the Provision and Activation of Public Wi-Fi," which includes the establishment of public Wi-Fi policies and the creation of a provision foundation.

The expansion of public Wi-Fi is a national agenda of the Moon Jae-in administration and the first pledge of the Democratic Party of Korea in the 21st general election. The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to establish new public Wi-Fi in 10,000 public places this year.

However, unlike other welfare projects, there is no specific legal basis, causing difficulties in securing budgets. In addition, central administrative agencies and local governments individually carry out public Wi-Fi projects, preventing the Ministry of Science and ICT from acting as the control tower for the policy.

Accordingly, the Public Wi-Fi Act proposed by Assemblyman Cho Seung-rae establishes a Public Wi-Fi Committee under the Ministry of Science and ICT to enable the formulation of basic and implementation plans for public Wi-Fi. It also includes provisions for the Minister of Science and ICT to investigate the usage status of public Wi-Fi and announce management guidelines. The bill also provides the legal basis for the Public Wi-Fi Integrated Management Center established at the end of last year. Measures to ensure an appropriate quality level of public Wi-Fi, such as service development, quality management, and technical standardization, are also included.

Assemblyman Cho Seung-rae emphasized, "Public Wi-Fi is a universal communication welfare policy that can improve citizens' information accessibility, bridge the information gap for vulnerable groups, and reduce communication costs," adding, "The Public Wi-Fi Act proposed this time is essential for realizing such communication welfare. I will do my best to ensure the prompt passage of the Public Wi-Fi Act so that both quantitative expansion and qualitative improvement of public Wi-Fi can be achieved."

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