Damaging Urban Landscape and Threatening Safety... Unauthorized Communication Lines Found Throughout the City

Citizens Urge Immediate Maintenance
Difficult to Detect, Limited Authority for Forced Removal

"It looks messy, and I'm also worried it might be dangerous."

Reckless installation and poor maintenance of communication lines by telecom companies are damaging the urban landscape and raising concerns about safety accidents.

On the 13th, electric wires and communication lines are tangled on a utility pole near Yongsan Elementary School in Seoul. Photo by Seungwook Park

On the afternoon of September 12, electric wires and communication lines were found tangled on a utility pole in front of Yongsan Elementary School in Seoul. Some disconnected communication lines were hanging loosely, not secured in place. Lee (68), whom we met at the scene, said, "Since this is a place where children walk, the lines should be organized quickly, and unused lines should be removed."

Communication lines, which connect wired services such as the internet, are installed below the electric wires on utility poles. In the villa district of Jangchung-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, electric wires and communication lines were also tangled on utility poles, and some communication lines had descended all the way to the ground, following air conditioner outdoor unit cables. Water from the outdoor units was pooling on the ground below.

Lee Seoyeon (29), an office worker, said, "There are so many wires tangled like a spider web on the utility poles that maintenance seems necessary," adding, "It looks like the heavy bundle of wires could even fall." Park (23), a university student, said, "If pigeons or crows sit on the wires, they could sag further or get damaged, which could lead to accidents."

On the 13th, communication lines have descended to the ground at a villa in Jangchung-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Park Seungwook

The Ministry of Science and ICT organized 1 million abandoned communication lines last year and plans to remove 2 million lines each year from 2024 to 2027. In principle, telecom companies are supposed to remove communication lines when internet service is canceled, but since this is not followed in the field, the government has stepped in directly.

The main issue is unauthorized installation by telecom companies. By hanging new lines on existing utility poles instead of installing new ones, they can avoid the local government's road occupancy permit process and save the monthly rental fee of 802 won per line that must be paid to Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). According to KEPCO, unauthorized communication lines identified last year totaled 40,000 kilometers (390,000 lines). Of these, 12,000 kilometers have been cleared, but unauthorized installation continues, making it difficult to resolve the problem through removal efforts alone.

It is also difficult to catch violations on site. Among the dozens of wires on a utility pole, it is hard to immediately distinguish which are authorized, and even if unauthorized communication lines are found, they cannot be forcibly removed if they are not attached to KEPCO-owned equipment.

A KEPCO official stated, "Utility poles are designed to support the weight of the wires and devices attached to them, but if unauthorized installations continue, the excess weight can cause the poles to tilt or collapse." The official added, "To address the difficulty of forcibly removing unauthorized communication lines, the Ministry of Science and ICT is discussing countermeasures through a joint consultative body."