By Kim Yoo-chul

Strategy and Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan doesn’t seem to see eye to eye with Choi See-joong, the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) when it comes to mobile rate cuts.

Bahk said Monday that KCC’s policy of forcing carriers to reduce their rates violates the rule of law in the market.

Bahk is expecting to see a further decrease in mobile charges after the local telecom industry gets a new telecom player.

``It’s true that the nation’s telecom industry will get healthier with fair and market-driven competition,’’ the minister said. He was responding to a question from a KT executive during a recent forum in Seoul. KT is one of the three mobile service providers.

``For example, an early emergence of a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) will help the industry have healthier competition among the existing players,’’ Bahk said.

In contrast, Choi has been twisting the arms of the three nation’s telecos.

The minister’s remarks came after top carrier SK Telecom decided to lower its rates.

Choi, President Lee Myung-bak’s top aides, has been asking the nation’s second- and third-biggest telecom firms _ KT and LG U-plus _ to do the same.

The pressure to realize rate reduction is widely believed to appeal to the electorate ahead of next year’s elections.

Bahk, for his part, said the government will make greater effort to offer so-called ``market-friendly’’ and ``creative-centric’’ alternatives for fair competition.

KT and LG Uplus welcomed Bahk’s remarks and added they will review the possibility of offering reasonable telecom services while securing corporate sustainability.

``KCC was asking us to make major sacrifices and this, from our perspective, is unreasonable,’’ said another KT executive.

``The minister’s remarks mean even top government officials haven’t reached a consensus to effectively handle the issue. This is disappointing,’’ said a senior industry executive, asking not to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media.

Korea’s telecommunication market has already reached full maturity covering over 90 percent of the nation’s total population with some 48 million having Internet literacy.

Korea is the world’s most-wired society. SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus are still in heavy and unproductive competition to attract more customers by spending huge amounts on marketing, a critical reason why foreign investors shy away from telecom stocks, the executive said.