Reasons for Proposal
While Korea is considered to have established the world’s finest communications network, a fire disaster in a communications tunnel in November 2018 caused economic damage as well as a lot of disruption to many people’s lives. In particular, while hyperconnectivity networks like 5G are the key infrastructure in the 4th Industrial Revolution and must operate uninterrupted under any environment, supplementary legislation was not prepared in the 20th National Assembly.
In this regard, this Act aims to improve the communications management system by creating the Communications Disaster Management Review Committee and tightening the obligations of broadcasting communications service providers to manage communications facilities, and improve the overall system related to disasters in broadcasting communications to protect people by legislating roaming in mobile communications so that people can continue to use communications services in any disaster.
Details
A. The Communications Disaster Management Review Committee was created to designate the grade to a communications facility, guide and inspect major broadcasting communications service providers’ implementation of a plan for the management of disasters in broadcasting communications, operate broadcasting communications facilities in an integrated way, and review the joint use of wireless communications facilities (Article 35-2 newly inserted).
B. Define the grading of communications facilities and require major broadcasting communications service providers to ensure bypass communications pathways, take action to limit access to communications facilities, operate disaster response staff, and manage communications facilities under criteria specified by the Minister of Science and ICT (Article 35-3 newly inserted).
C. Allow the Minister of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission to order any major broadcasting communications service provider to supplement its plan for the management of disasters in broadcasting communications if the provider establishes its plan without following the established guidelines (Article 36 (3) newly inserted).
D. Require major broadcasting communications service providers providing mobile communications services to take action necessary for the joint use of wireless communications facilities, and allow the Minister of Science and ICT to order mobile communications service providers to permit other communications providers to jointly use wireless communications facilities if certain requirements are met (Article 37-2 newly inserted).
E. Require major broadcasting communications service providers above a certain scale in terms of the previous year’s telecommunications revenue to operate departments or staff dedicated to communications disaster management (Article 39-2 newly inserted).
F. Allow the Minister of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission to impose penalty surcharges on any major broadcasting communications service provider which violates a corrective order to implement a plan for the management of disasters in broadcasting communications under Article 36-2 (2) (Article 40-4 newly inserted).
G. Allow the Minister of Science and ICT to have any major broadcasting communications service provider report their facilities, or inspect the status, records, or documents related to such facilities if required to grade communications facilities or check the appropriateness of their management condition (Article 43 (1) 3 newly inserted).
H. Allow the Minister of Science and ICT to impose administrative fines for not submitting supporting documentation for the grading of communications facilities or failing to manage communications facilities in compliance with legal requirements (Article 48 (1) 3).
