Prosecution drops 7 Wonders case over int'l call charges

By Kim Jae-won

The prosecution on Thursday dropped a case against the chairman of KT who was accused of charging international fees to customers who used its service to vote in favor of Jeju Island becoming one of the New7Wonders of Nature in 2011.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said that it was lawful that the nation’s biggest telecommunication company charged international call rates.

“The New7Wonders vote was a kind of international calling service because its data was examined in the United Kingdom via servers in Japan. It is difficult to see that KT raised fees to earn illegal profits,” said the prosecution.

KT provided telephone voting service for the New7Wonders Foundation which selected Jeju in December 2011 as one of the new seven wonders in the world.

KT was suspected of charging expensive international fees on the service even though it was not a general overseas calling service.

The government of Jeju Province got into hot water for spending 22 billion won on using the telephone calling service, but the Board of Audit and Inspection concluded it was not unlawful in December.