Ministry of Science and ICT Holds Public Debate on Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act

Discussion on Revision Plans Including Legal System Reform to Respond to Environmental Changes in the Digital Era

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] The Ministry of Science and ICT held a public forum at 2 p.m. on the 29th at the SC Convention Center in Seoul to discuss amendments to the "Telecommunications Business Act" in the digital era.

At this forum, Minseok Lee, Head of the Competition Policy Research Office at the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI), presented on the topic "Amendment Plans for the Telecommunications Business Act in Response to Changes in the Telecommunications Environment," and Wonwoo Lee, Executive Vice President for Planning at Seoul National University, served as the chair. Experts from academia, research, consumer organizations, and industry also participated in the discussion.

Since July, KISDI has formed an expert forum to study and review amendment plans for the Telecommunications Business Act.

In his presentation, Minseok Lee of KISDI's Competition Policy Research Office stated, "At a time when all sectors of the economy and society are becoming digitalized and telecommunications services are becoming essential, it is necessary to consider amending the Telecommunications Business Act in a way that drives the continuous development of the telecommunications industry and effectively responds to future telecommunications environments."

To this end, he argued for restructuring the legal framework, including the law's title, purpose, and chapter/section structure, to align with the digital economy era, and emphasized the need to support the healthy growth of the telecommunications industry through measures such as backing autonomous regulatory bodies. Additionally, he proposed amendment plans aimed at revitalizing investment and promoting competition, such as expanding mandatory provision institutions for essential facilities and improving the wholesale provision system for budget phones, securing digital safety by establishing grounds for submitting data related to telecommunications service stability, and enhancing user protection and benefits through improvements to universal service, numbering, and device-related systems.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to prepare an amendment bill for the Telecommunications Business Act after collecting opinions and conducting further discussions.

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