"Frustrating 5G, Three Major Telecom Companies Must Compensate 350,000 Won"

"Telecom 3 Companies Responsible for 5G Outages"
Consumer Group Council's Mediation Proposal Released

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] A recommendation has been made that the three major telecom companies compensate consumers up to 350,000 KRW for dissatisfaction with 5G quality.

On the 20th, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) held a press conference at their office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and disclosed a mediation proposal from the Korea Consumer Agency's Autonomous Dispute Mediation Committee (Mediation Committee) containing this content. The Mediation Committee stated, "According to Article 3 of the Terms and Conditions Act, the respondents, the three mobile carriers, have an obligation to specify and explain to the applicants, the consumers, the 'possibility of 5G service shadow areas,'” and added, “It is presumed that the contract lacks sufficient information on available areas and adequate explanation.”

Since December last year, 21 5G subscribers have applied for mediation through PSPD. The Mediation Committee reviewed 18 cases, excluding 3 who withdrew their applications midway. After three meetings, PSPD and the three mobile carriers reached a mediation proposal, which was accepted by 3 of the 18 applicants. Moon Eun-ok, a secretary at PSPD, explained, “If the mediation proposal is rejected, applicants may disclose the mediation details externally,” and added, “The 15 disclosed cases reflect the participants’ will that appropriate compensation should be provided to more 5G users.”

PSPD stated, “There are indications that the government hastily pushed for approval of the terms of use to become the ‘world’s first country to commercialize 5G,’” and urged, “The government should identify users who experienced inconvenience and establish standards for calculating compensation.” They also proposed, “Considering that most 5G subscribers use LTE, fees should be lowered to LTE levels,” and “There is also a need for mid- to low-priced plans with lower average monthly fees.”

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT, as of August, there are 8,658,222 5G subscribers nationwide. The three telecom companies expect to complete nationwide 5G network construction by 2022.

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