SKT, KT take deep breath over cost disclosure
By Jun Ji-hye
Three mobile carriers here are being driven deeper into a corner after the nation's top court ordered them last week to reveal the details of their operating costs.
The Ministry of Science and ICT also said it plans to disclose reports and material about mobile carriers' business and operating costs by due process of law.
A ruling party lawmaker is adding pressure to SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus by proposing a bill to institutionalize the disclosure of such information.
With growing pressure from the court, the National Assembly and the ministry is expected to ask mobile carriers further to cut the burden of household communication expenses.
On April 12, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling made by a high court, stating that the public's access to the breakdown of operating costs of mobile carriers were a right granted by the Constitution.
The court ruling requests the carriers to reveal such information and related documents during the 2005-2011 period.
The announcement by the court came seven years after People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, an advocate group, filed a lawsuit.
The activist group claimed telecommunication services have become a necessity for the people, claiming such information, which affects their daily life, needs to be shared to provide the public with a clearer understanding of fees being charged.
A day after, the ministry said, “The court decision reconfirms telecom services should be treated as public goods,” vowing to make efforts to reduce household communication expenses.
On the same day, Rep. Kim Kyung-hyup of the governing Democratic Party proposed a bill, which, if it gets implemented, will ask the government to disclose the breakdowns of operating costs of mobile carriers and give authority to customers and civic groups to participate in a committee meeting discussing any changes in communication charges.
The lawmaker said frequency and radio waves used in telecom services are public resources, claiming telecom services should be offered at reasonable prices.
“Customers also need to participate in the decision-making process on communication charges,” he said.
Telecom companies did not issue official statements on the court ruling, but insiders claimed information the court ordered them to disclose may contain business secrets.
They also said such standards should not be applied to private firms, claiming it is very rare in other countries for private companies to be forced to disclose business-related information.