South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on March 17 it will begin work in earnest on "radio wave regulation improvement based on public participation" in line with accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) transformation and the spread of new industries and technologies.

The regulatory overhaul will pursue bottom-up innovation to reflect on-the-ground voices so innovative services based on radio waves can enter the market in a timely manner. To that end, the ministry will hold an idea contest on radio wave regulation improvement for the general public from March 17 and simultaneously gather opinions from specialised groups such as radio-related associations, forums and academic societies.

Anyone interested in improving radio wave regulations can participate in the contest. There are 2 categories: proposals to ease specific inconveniences in the process of using radio waves, and proposals to improve public benefit that contribute to enhancing public convenience and boosting industrial efficiency. The results will be announced in May after screening. The ministry plans to select 5 ideas: 1 grand prize winner (1 million won), 2 excellence award winners (500,000 won each) and 2 encouragement award winners (300,000 won each).

Over the same period, it will also collect opinions from about 40 organisations including radio-related groups and consumer groups. The ministry plans to classify needs identified through the public contest and the collection of views from groups by urgency and difficulty and to swiftly pursue practical, on-the-ground regulatory improvements. For tasks that require amendments to laws and regulations, it will present a future improvement roadmap after in-depth discussion forums.

Lee Hyun-ho (이현호), director general of the Radio Policy Bureau at the ministry, said the contest and opinion-gathering are the starting point for regulatory improvement in the radio wave field based on the views of the public and policy demanders. The ministry will continue to listen to and reflect as many public opinions as possible to improve radio wave regulations, he said.