Jo Incheol's 'Region-Led R&D Act' and 'Voice Phishing Prevention Act' Passed in Plenary Session

On April 23, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea passed the 'Act on Promoting Region-Led Science and Technology Innovation' and the 'Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act,' both sponsored by Jo Incheol, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea.

The newly enacted region-led R&D Act aims to decentralize the current research and development investment structure, which has been concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, by redistributing investments to other regions.

Under this law, provincial governors are to establish five-year plans, which the central government will support, enabling local governments to take the lead in planning and executing R&D projects.

There have been repeated criticisms that the national R&D budget has been overly concentrated in the capital area, resulting in weak linkages with regional industries and accelerating the outflow of talent.

Jo Incheol

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The legislation also includes provisions for large-scale regional research and development projects, the designation of local agencies in charge, and the expansion of industry-academia-research collaboration.

The amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, which passed alongside, focuses on completely blocking the use of 'caller ID spoofing devices (SIM boxes),' which are often used for voice phishing. It fully bans their manufacture, import, sale, and possession, and establishes measures to prevent their entry at customs.

SIM boxes are devices that allow overseas calls to be disguised as domestic numbers, and have been widely used by voice phishing organizations. The absence of clear regulatory grounds had previously limited enforcement efforts.

This legislation is cited as an example of an issue raised by Jo Incheol during a parliamentary audit being addressed through follow-up legislative action.

Jo stated, "Regions must be able to establish and implement their own innovation strategies," adding, "We will also work to reduce actual damages by cutting off a core means of voice phishing."

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