Telecom regulator to probe KT over internet speed controversy

By Kim Hyun-bin

The country's top telecommunications regulator is set to investigate KT for allegedly intentionally lowering the speed of its 10 Giga (gigabit) internet service plan.

The controversy comes after a famous IT YouTuber shed light on the telecom giant's alleged deliberate action that led to an official apology from KT.

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) announced it would investigate all three major telecom companies here ― KT, SKT and LG Uplus.

“We will start a thorough investigation with KT, then move on to SKT and LG Uplus,” Kim Hyun, vice chairwoman of the KCC said. “If systematic changes are needed they will be made. If there are legal issues we will swiftly deal with them as this is of public concern.”

“Finding the problem will be our upmost priority. We will investigate along with the KCC and take any measures necessary,” added Minister of Science and ICT Choi Ki-young.

KT came under fire after a famous YouTuber discovered last week that the country's second largest mobile carrier provided a slower internet speed than promised in its coverage plan.

The YouTuber claimed that KT's 10 gigabits per second plan had an actual download speed of 100 megabits per second, while his office using the same plan showed a download speed of 5 gigabits per second.

Both issues were resolved after calling the company's customer service and KT officially apologized for the inconvenience, Tuesday, claiming it was not intentional but a mistake.

The KCC will review whether KT deliberately slowed down internet speeds and will make sure proper compensation is given. The investigation will also look into any possible violations of the Telecommunication Business Act.

“We are deeply sorry to our KT Giga internet users,” KT CEO Ku Hyeon-mo said during the World IT Show 2021 at COEX in Seoul, Wednesday. “There were some customer setting errors in the process of expanding and replacing our 10 gigabits internet equipment.”