Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission Chairman Kim Jong-cheol (김종철) and the chief executives of the three mobile carriers are set to meet. It will be the first time Kim has officially met the carriers’ CEOs since taking office.

Industry sources said on Jan. 23 that Kim will hold a meeting on the afternoon of Feb. 11 at a location in Seoul with SK Telecom CEO Jae-heon Jung (정재헌), KT CEO Young-seob Kim (김영섭) and LG Uplus CEO Beom-sik Hong (홍범식).

Follow-up steps after the repeal of the handset distribution law are expected to be a main agenda item. The commission has operated a consultative body for follow-up measures since the law was repealed in July last year. Measures to prevent market confusion are expected to be discussed, including opaque handset distribution structures and inducements to sign up for high-priced plans. The carriers’ roles in public safety, such as blocking voice phishing and spam, are also expected to be on the table, sources said.

Normalization of the commission is also drawing closer. The commission is currently run under a two-member structure made up of Chairman Kim and attorney Shin-hwan Ryu (류신환), a part-time commissioner. Under the law on establishing the commission, meetings open with at least 4 of 7 commissioners present and decisions are made by a majority of those attending.

The Democratic Party, which held interviews on Jan. 22 for standing and part-time commissioner posts, decided to recommend Min-soo Ko (고민수), a professor in the law department at Gangneung-Wonju National University, as its candidate for a standing commissioner.

Candidates to be recommended as part-time commissioners have not yet been finalized. Industry expectations are that recommendations for part-time commissioners will be made by February at the latest. With operations possible once 4 commissioners are secured, the commission is expected to meet the minimum quorum within the first quarter and begin full-scale operations.