Free Nationwide Video Calls During Seollal Holiday... 100GB Data for 2 Months to Small Business Owners

Minister Choi Ki-young of the Ministry of Science and ICT is holding a meeting with the representatives of the three major telecommunications companies via a video conference system on the afternoon of the 9th at the Sejong Finance Center in Sejong Special Self-Governing City. From the top left of the screen clockwise: Minister Choi Ki-young of the Ministry of Science and ICT, KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo, LG Uplus CEO Hwang Hyun-sik, SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Joeslgina] During this Lunar New Year holiday, all citizens will be able to use video calls free of charge. Small business owners and self-employed individuals facing difficulties in their livelihoods due to the impact of COVID-19 will receive an additional 100GB of data over two months.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 9th, Minister Choi Ki-young held an online meeting with the CEOs of the three major telecom companies?Park Jung-ho, CEO of SK Telecom; Koo Hyun-mo, CEO of KT; and Hwang Hyun-sik, President of LG Uplus?to discuss support measures in the telecommunications sector.

First, the three telecom companies will provide free video calls from January 11 to 14, during the Lunar New Year holiday. Any smartphone user capable of video calling can use the service without any charge, including users of the three major telecom companies as well as MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) users. This measure aims to allow citizens who cannot visit their hometowns due to continued social distancing during the Lunar New Year to celebrate an "online Seol." However, the Ministry of Science and ICT added that if usage concentrates during specific times, such as the morning of Seol day, quality degradation may occur, so distributed usage is recommended. Prepaid phones are excluded from the free service due to technical issues.

Support for low-income students, the elderly, and persons with disabilities will also be strengthened. Any low-income elementary, middle, or high school student can apply to freely use educational content such as EBS on smartphones without worrying about data usage. A disability plan that doubles the video call minutes (600 minutes) compared to general plans will be launched for 5G users, targeting those with visual and hearing impairments. LG Uplus will launch this on the 22nd, and SK Telecom and KT plan to launch it in April. For the elderly, services such as the ‘Silver Safety Service’ and the opening of a ‘Senior-only Counseling Center’ will improve convenience in telecommunications use.

Additionally, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the three telecom companies have prepared support for small business owners and self-employed individuals struggling due to COVID-19. Approximately 150,000 small business owners and self-employed individuals using dedicated small business products from the three telecom companies can apply to receive an additional 100GB of mobile data over two months (50GB per month). Business owners in sectors such as lodging and PC rooms who apply to temporarily suspend communication services used at their business locations (such as high-speed internet and dedicated lines) due to customer decline can extend the suspension period from the previous maximum of three months to six months.

Along with this, the three telecom companies will waive service suspensions due to overdue mobile phone bills during February and March, which include the Lunar New Year holiday, to prevent service interruptions. They will also provide guidance on installment payments for unpaid bills upon application. Furthermore, to alleviate household communication expenses, they will expand guidance on the 25% monthly mobile phone discount system for selective contracts from twice to four times to eliminate blind spots.

The three telecom companies will also proceed without delay with the originally promised total wired and wireless investment of 25 trillion KRW from 2022 to 2024 for early 5G infrastructure construction and economic recovery. In the third year, this year, they will focus all efforts on building 5G networks in 85 major administrative districts of cities, transportation networks, and over 4,000 multi-use facilities to ensure that citizens can tangibly experience quality improvements.

They will expand the 28 GHz band 5G network capable of ultra-high-speed service and simultaneously transition to standalone mode (SA). The government will also support operators’ 5G investments by expanding investment tax credits and strengthening quality evaluations. Heo Seong-wook, Director of the Network Policy Office, said at a briefing held in the afternoon, "All three telecom companies have decided to invest in 5G infrastructure at levels similar to last year, so there will be no delay in early 5G deployment," emphasizing, "We will strive to ensure that citizens can actually feel the benefits of 5G."

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