Regulation Warning from Kakao Extends to Telecom Industry... Ministry of the Interior and Safety Conducts Emergency Inspection of Four Major Telecom Companies

Preventing the 'Kakao Outage' Incident
Planned Reality Check, but
Telecom Industry Calls It "Showy Administration Overriding the Ministry of Science and ICT"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will conduct an emergency inspection of major communication network facilities of the three major telecom companies and SK Broadband, which are considered national core infrastructure, starting at the end of this month following the 'Kakao outage' incident. The telecommunications industry is expressing doubts that the government is beginning to strengthen regulations on the telecom sector as well, following portals and data centers, since the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has taken the lead in inspections, bypassing the Ministry of Science and ICT, the main regulatory body.

According to the government and industry on the 20th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to carry out an emergency on-site inspection of 17 major national core communication network facilities in South Korea from the 31st of this month to the 11th of next month, pursuant to Article 26-2, Paragraph 3 of the Disaster and Safety Act.

The inspection targets include KT Hyehwa, Guro, Munhwa, and Yongin switching stations; LG Uplus Sangam, Daejeon Oryu, and Anyang stations; SK Telecom Bundang, Seongsu, Boramae, and Dunsan office buildings; network management centers such as KT National Network Center, LG Uplus Magok office, SK Broadband Dongjak Integrated Information Center; and KT Geoje submarine cable landing station.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to examine whether fire prevention facilities such as sprinklers, accident detection terminals, and combustion prevention devices are installed and operational, as well as whether disaster response manuals are appropriate, including the dualization of communication and power facilities and the preparation of alternative communication routes in emergencies.

However, the telecommunications industry has expressed resentment over the Ministry of the Interior and Safety taking the lead instead of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the main regulatory body. An industry official said, "If the Ministry of Science and ICT, which has prior knowledge related to telecommunications, conducts the inspection, it would be understandable, but the Ministry of the Interior and Safety taking the lead seems like a showy act." He criticized, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has never directly intervened in previous major incidents, so the inspection itself may be the purpose rather than preparing follow-up measures."

The Ministry of Science and ICT has been developing measures focused on preventing and responding to physical disasters such as natural disasters and fires to ensure network stability since the 2018 KT Ahyeon incident. After the recurrence of the KT network accident at the end of last year, it also prepared a 'Network Stability Assurance Plan' as a follow-up measure. It has continuously inspected the dualization of communication networks for important communication facilities and the reinforcement of fire safety facilities in all communication ducts.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to add value-added telecommunications business facilities to the designation criteria for national core infrastructure protection systems. This includes private data centers in addition to Kakao and Naver. The National Assembly has also raised the need to strengthen regulations on value-added telecommunications operators, and lawmakers have proposed related bills. On the 17th, Assemblyman Cho Seung-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea officially proposed the 'Partial Amendment to the Framework Act on Broadcasting and Communications Development (Broadcasting and Communications Development Framework Act Amendment)' to include major online services and data centers in the national disaster management system.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s plan, upon amendment of the Broadcasting and Communications Development Framework Act, the Ministry of Science and ICT can apply to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for designation as national core infrastructure. When receiving a facility designation request, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will undergo expert opinion gathering and deliberation by the Safety Policy Coordination Committee. To designate value-added telecommunications business facilities as national core infrastructure, it is necessary to amend the Enforcement Decree of the Disaster and Safety Act, which stipulates the designation criteria for national core infrastructure, and the Ministry plans to proceed accordingly. However, close cooperation with the main regulatory body, the Ministry of Science and ICT, is required during this process.

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