Twelve home shopping operators, including Lotte Home Shopping and Home & Shopping, received reauthorisation with a validity period of 7 years.

The Broadcasting Media Communications Commission said on Tuesday it held its 34th plenary meeting and deliberated and approved whether to reauthorise 12 home shopping operators whose approval validity expired from April to June this year.

All 12 operators scored at least 650 points, the reauthorisation threshold, out of a total 1,000 points. They also met at least 50 percent of the points allocated in fail categories. Reauthorisation for all was decided with a validity period of 7 years.

Those subject to reauthorisation include TV home shopping operators Lotte Home Shopping and Home & Shopping, and data home shopping operators W Shopping, Shinsegae Shopping, CJ Onstyle Plus, SK Stoa, NS Shop Plus, Lotte One TV, GS My Shop, Shopping N T, KT Alpha Shopping and Hyundai Home Shopping Plus Shop.

By operator, Hyundai Home Shopping Plus Shop recorded the highest score at 784.98, followed by Lotte One TV at 781.52, NS Shop Plus at 775.03 and Lotte Home Shopping at 760.85.

This review was conducted through an evaluation committee chaired by BMCC commissioner Ryu Shin-hwan (류신환) and composed of 10 experts in broadcasting and media, law, accounting, technology, and viewer and consumer fields.

The BMCC said it refined existing reauthorisation conditions that were less timely or overlapped with other laws and systems, and made conditions more specific by reflecting each operator's characteristics.

Conditions imposed in common on the 12 operators include requiring contracts to specify in detail the content and scope of services for which suppliers pay sales commissions and receive services. Acts of unfairly passing on increased transmission fees to suppliers' sales commissions are also prohibited.

They were also required to refine internal rules related to preventing unfair trade and employee wrongdoing, and compensating suppliers for damages, and to establish fair trade practices.

Separate conditions were also set by operator. Home & Shopping must maintain a direct purchasing ratio of at least 20 percent for products from small and medium-sized enterprises and prepare measures for labour-management win-win management and improving working conditions for broadcast workers.

CJ ENM, NS Shopping, Woori Home Shopping, GS Retail and Hyundai Home Shopping, which operate both TV home shopping and data home shopping, cannot use on data home shopping channels the same name as the TV home shopping channel name of the same corporation to prevent viewer misunderstanding. In principle, they are also restricted from re-scheduling on data home shopping products that were scheduled on TV home shopping.

SK Stoa and KT Alpha were subject to a condition that they cannot sign channel transmission contracts on unfairly favourable terms with the same corporate group or affiliates.

BMCC Chairman Kim Jong-cheol (김종철) said, "As home shopping is an important sales channel for small and medium-sized enterprises, it must faithfully carry out its inherent role even in a difficult distribution and media environment." He added, "The BMCC will also push ahead without disruption with the policy support needed to strengthen the competitiveness of home shopping operators and expand sales channels for small and medium-sized enterprises."

Kim added, "Home shopping operators must continue to make efforts to establish fair trade practices and secure differentiated competitiveness through diverse and creative programmes, while providing viewers with useful and reliable broadcasting services."