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(Photo= Yonhap news) |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) is said to have reached a decision regarding imposing fines related to collusion allegations against the three major mobile carriers.
According to Choi Soo-jin, a member of the ruling People Power Party's Communications and Broadcasting Committee, the KFTC has internally established a range for fines between 3.4 trillion KRW and 5.5 trillion KRW, citing that the carriers colluded on sales incentives and trading conditions. The KFTC is currently coordinating a schedule for a plenary meeting, which is expected to take place early next year.
The proposed fines are estimated as follows: SK Telecom between 1.4091 trillion KRW and 2.196 trillion KRW, KT between 1.0134 trillion KRW and 1.689 trillion KRW, and LG Uplus between 985.1 billion KRW and 1.6418 trillion KRW. Reports indicate that the KFTC has sent a review report containing these details to the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the Korea Association of ICT Promotion (KAIT), and the three mobile carriers.
When consumers purchase mobile devices, the subsidies they receive are primarily divided into the carriers' official subsidies and additional support from sales and agency channels. The additional support is derived from sales incentives provided by the carriers to the sales and agency networks.
The KFTC has found that since 2015, the three mobile carriers have shared information regarding net increases in subscriber numbers, colluding to maintain similar subscriber levels through sales incentives.
In response, the carriers argue that they have only provided sales incentives in accordance with administrative guidance from the KCC based on the Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act, which was implemented in October 2014.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
