Next After Communication Fee Reduction: Phone Prices... Samsung and SKT Appear as Witnesses at National Assembly Audit

Listening to Manufacturers and Telecom Companies on Plans to Launch Mid- to Low-Priced Devices

In the political sphere, following the reduction of communication fees, a new card has been played to lower device prices to ease the burden of household communication expenses. The plan is to summon manufacturers and telecom companies together to the National Assembly audit session to hold them accountable for the shortage of mid-to-low-priced devices.

On the 24th, the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee held a plenary session before conducting an audit of agencies under the Ministry of Science and ICT and resolved to request the attendance of executives from Samsung Electronics and SK Telecom. Vice President Kang Bong-gu of Samsung Electronics and Division Head Han Myung-jin of SK Telecom will be called as reference witnesses during the comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 27th.

National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee
[Image source=Yonhap News]

This move follows a request from independent lawmaker Park Wan-joo. As the rise in device prices increases the burden of household communication expenses for domestic consumers, the plan is to hear opinions from executives of manufacturers and telecom companies on whether they have any intention to expand sales of mid-to-low-priced devices. Initially, the ruling and opposition parties in the Science and ICT Committee planned to summon senior executives from Samsung Electronics and telecom companies as witnesses for the comprehensive audit. However, by last Thursday, they failed to agree on the witness list and faced the prospect of ending the audit without calling any witnesses. Therefore, they decided to at least request their attendance as reference witnesses to hear the positions of manufacturers and telecom companies.

Lawmaker Park said, "In fact, Samsung Electronics' witness attendance was an issue agreed upon by both ruling and opposition parties, but due to disagreements over witnesses from other agencies, no consensus was reached." He added, "It is appropriate for Samsung to appear at the National Assembly audit to explain the domestic consumer discrimination regarding mid-to-low-priced devices and to share plans for reducing the burden of household communication expenses in the future."

According to the 'User Awareness Survey on Mobile Phone Device Usage' released by the Seoul YMCA Citizen Relay Room and disclosed by Democratic Party lawmaker Byun Jae-il, 85% of the public think that the price of the devices they currently use is expensive. Lawmaker Byun said, "Statistics confirm that the biggest cause of the burden of household communication expenses is device prices, but government policies have so far remained focused only on reducing communication fees."

The government and the ruling party are also paying attention to device prices. At the National Assembly audit, People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Doo-hyun emphasized that device prices need to be lowered to reduce household communication expenses and requested the expansion of low-priced devices and the repeal of the Device Distribution Structure Improvement Act. On the 15th of last month, Lee Dong-gwan, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, met with representatives of the three major mobile carriers and announced plans to review device prices and the communication fee system.

However, there is also an opinion that domestic consumers prefer high-performance devices such as Apple's iPhone or Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S series and foldable series, so even if low-priced devices targeted at markets like India are sold, actual demand will be minimal. According to a Counterpoint Research survey, the top four best-selling smartphones in Korea last year were premium smartphones such as the Galaxy S22 series, Z Flip4, and iPhone 13. An industry insider said, "Korean consumers often want to buy premium products at a lower price, but demand for mid-to-low-priced products is low."

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