By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
South Korean households pay too much for using the Internet and mobiles phones, President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday, calling for the need to persuade firms to lower such charges.
Lee said the country should encourage competition in the telecommunications market to help firms provide better services at lower prices, an indication that his administration will lower the entry barrier for the market.
``Most people agree telecommunication services are expensive,'' Lee said during a policy briefing by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), which sets up broadcasting and communications policies and regulations. ``We need to turn the market into a more competition-oriented one to help people use the services at cheaper prices.''
According to the Seoul YMCA, the average Korean homes spend up to 7 percent of their income on telecom services, 3.5 times more than the average of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries.
Seoul City said an average household in Seoul earned 3.39 million won per month last year, of which 350,000 was spent on telecom and public transportation services.
``We should remove regulations on broadcasting and telecom services. Such efforts will lead to the creation of a top-rated Korean global media firm and will offer more jobs,'' Lee said.
Lee also discussed surging crime and defamation against politicians in cyberspace with KCC Chairman Choi See-joong.
``The Internet plays a positive role in the information society but has recently become a hotbed for groundless accusations and false rumors against certain people. The commission should try harder to prevent this,'' Lee said.
He called such negative phenomenon an ``epidemic.''
The prosecution has indicted organizers of some Internet debate sites on charges of masterminding the protests against the government's resumption of American beef imports in April.
Most recently, rumors about a financial crisis in Korea have been spreading on the Internet.
Lee also hoped South Korean mobile carriers will increase their share in the Chinese market, citing an agreement he signed last month with Chinese President Hu Jintao during their summit to cooperate in the telecom sector.