Deputy Minister of Science and ICT Visits KT Ahyeon Exchange Station, Says "Internet Quality Issues Require System Improvement"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] Cho Kyung-sik, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated on the 23rd, "KT must feel a heavy responsibility for neglecting the most basic duties of network quality management and enhancing user benefits."

On the same day, Vice Minister Cho visited the KT Ahyeon Exchange in Seoul to inspect the progress of measures to prevent communication disasters and said, "Efforts must be made to resolve the 10-giga (10GB bps) internet quality issues."

He said, "KT must be more vigilant and strengthen the basics, not only in communication disaster safety management but also in service quality management," adding, "Please cooperate with the government's fact-finding inspections and work on institutional improvements to enhance user benefits."

The recent internet quality controversy spread after a famous IT YouTuber ‘Itsseop’ revealed on his YouTube channel on the 17th that the KT 10-giga internet service he uses was actually provided at a speed of only 100 megabits (MB bps), which is one-hundredth of the promised speed. During this process, KT’s attitude was also criticized, including the rude response of customer service staff who seemed to shift the blame onto customers and demands for video deletions.

Ultimately, KT posted an apology on its official website on the 21st, stating, "We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused by the recent degradation of the 10-giga internet quality." KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo also apologized on the same day, saying, "There were mistakes on our part, and there were problems in the response process," and promised to prevent recurrence.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission have conducted fact-finding inspections to determine whether KT intentionally degraded internet speeds.

Vice Minister Cho emphasized, "In the non-face-to-face era, communication services are a core infrastructure for the nation’s economic and social activities," and urged, "Please carry out communication disaster prevention measures without fail and strive to make communication disaster preparedness world-class by utilizing new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data."

The KT Ahyeon Exchange, which Vice Minister Cho visited that day, was the site of a fire in the communication duct in November 2018. After the Ahyeon Exchange communication duct fire, the government pushed forward follow-up measures to strengthen the communication disaster response system. KT stated, "We have completed the installation and upgrading of locks and CCTV, as well as the deployment of disaster response personnel," and added, "The dualization of communication networks and power supply networks is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year as planned."

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