Korea Communications Commission suspended due to one-man system

The Korea Communications Commission has been converted to an official one-man system, making it virtually impossible to implement policies. As a result, it is feared that major tasks such as protecting artificial intelligence (AI) users, reorganizing media legislation, and overhauling digital regulations will drift for a long time.

President Lee Jae-myung on Monday approved the resignation of Kim Tae-kyu, vice chairman of the Korea Communications Commission. With the resignation, the commission is now under the sole leadership of Chairman Lee Jin-sook.

The KCC is a five-member standing committee based on consensus among its members, which consists of two members (including the chairperson) and three members recommended by the National Assembly. However, the committee has been operating under a two-member system since the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has continued to have vacant parliamentary-recommended members.

Under the current law, the committee must make a resolution through a general meeting to make policy decisions such as enacting laws and imposing fines. However, under the single-person system, the meeting itself is not established, so discussion and execution of resolutions are impossible.

An industry official said, "The committee has not already functioned properly since the previous government," adding, "Now the situation is worse."

The commission announced its 2025 business plan in January this year, presenting its vision to "realize a trusted and vibrant society accompanied by digital and media." In particular, it announced its blueprint to present a mid- to long-term roadmap for protecting user rights and the harmonious development of the AI industry with the spread of AI. However, for now, the roadmap is expected to be disrupted.

The KCC also announced its will to reform the media legislation for the shared growth of new and old media such as broadcasting and online video services (OTT), but this is also expected to be put on hold. In addition, the plan to push for a significantly lower penalty increase for the Telecommunications Business Act than the global regulation in order to enhance deterrence against violations of the law is uncertain at present.

It said it would prepare a public-private joint self-regulation recommendation (draft) to induce self-regulation activities and strengthening accountability, such as rapid receipt and processing of false manipulation information on the platform, management of abuse such as fake accounts and bots, and preparation of transparency reports.

An official from the Korea Communications Commission said, "Monitoring and analyzing tasks such as telecommunications market investigations that do not require a resolution are possible," but added, "As policies involving legalization or sanctions are impossible to meet at a general meeting, restrictions are inevitable."

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