KT Fined 640 Million Won for Unilateral Cancellation of Galaxy S25 Pre-Orders, Undermining User Interests

'Broadcasting Three Acts' Enforcement Decrees Finalized

The Broadcasting, Media and Communications Committee has imposed a fine of 640 million won on KT. The decision was based on a finding that KT violated the Telecommunications Business Act during the pre-order process for the Galaxy S25 last year. The committee explained that KT failed to properly inform customers that the pre-order benefits were limited to a certain number of people, and unilaterally canceled the contracts of 7,127 applicants, thereby undermining user interests.

Kim Jongchul, Chairman of the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Committee, is speaking at the 7th meeting of the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Committee held on the 8th in Gwacheon. Photo by Yonhap News

At its 7th meeting held on May 8, the committee determined that KT had violated Article 50 of the Telecommunications Business Act and decided to issue a corrective order and impose a fine of 640 million won.

During the Galaxy S25 pre-order, KT had stated on its official website under "General Event Precautions" that "benefits are available unless a separate closing notice is posted," yet the number of recipients was limited to the first 1,000 people. KT claimed that the omission of notification was due to a simple oversight by the responsible staff member.

In this process, KT unilaterally canceled the contracts of 7,127 pre-order applicants. The committee found that users who had completed identity verification and payment method entry were unjustly restricted from subscribing without valid reasons.

Chairman Kim Jongchul stated, "We will thoroughly monitor actions that undermine user interests, such as providing false or omitted information on important matters when subscribing to mobile communication services, and will strengthen oversight to ensure that the committee's decisions are properly implemented, so that the public can access services without inconvenience."

'Broadcasting Three Acts' Enforcement Decrees Finalized

The committee also finalized presidential decrees and rules for the implementation of the 'Broadcasting Three Acts' on the same day.

The core of the amendments is to strengthen the autonomy and independence of public broadcasters’ programming, and to ensure fairness in the procedures for appointing board members and presidents. The committee supplemented the draft after collecting opinions through legislative and administrative notices and public forums since the initial report on April 10.

The committee stipulated that the scope of employees engaged in news gathering, reporting, production, and programming would be limited to those on open-ended employment contracts, excluding department heads and higher-ranking executives. The specific scope of such employees is to be determined by the workers’ representative on the labor-management council, taking into account the independence of programming at each broadcaster. The representative of the employees is to be elected by a majority of the relevant staff; however, if there is a labor union with a majority of eligible voters, that union may designate the representative, as stipulated in the provision.

The amendments also introduce a new standard penalty of 10 million won for failing to appoint a programming manager or for non-compliance with programming regulations. Terrestrial radio broadcasting operators and terrestrial DMB operators that offer general programming are now required to establish a viewers’ committee.

Eligibility requirements for organizations recommending public broadcasting board members, procedures for public recruitment, and standards for polling agencies participating in the operation of the Presidential Candidate Recommendation Committee for station presidents have also been established. Polling agencies must have conducted nationwide surveys and government-approved statistical surveys within the past three years in order to ensure objectivity in the president candidate recommendation process.

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