Kim Jong-cheol (김종철), chairman of the Broadcast, Media and Communications Commission, visited a mobile phone sales agency to check what needs to be improved from a user's perspective.

Kim visited a sales agency in Seoul's Daehak-ro on the day and directly checked how the system is being implemented after the abolition of the Act on the Improvement of the Distribution Structure of Mobile Telecommunications Terminal Devices. He experienced the full process, from choosing a handset to guidance on plans and subsidies, explanations of add-on services and completing the contract. He checked how users are informed about contract terms and what must be stated in the contract.

After the law was abolished, provisions such as rules to protect users' rights were transferred to the Telecommunications Business Act. The enforcement decree of the Telecommunications Business Act took effect on April 28.

The decree's key points are to liberalise handset subsidies while strengthening user protection systems such as the duty to provide contract information. It stipulates items that must be specified in contracts when concluding handset service agreements, types of prohibited discriminatory payments of purchase subsidies, and the establishment and implementation of measures to create a fair distribution environment.

Kim said that as more information is provided to users when signing contracts due to the system improvement, easier and kinder guidance is needed. He stressed that operators should clearly explain contract details and subsidy conditions to users and ensure there is no unfair discrimination.

He added that as market competition has expanded, the importance of user protection has also grown. He urged an approach from the user's perspective so that users can accurately recognise the final burden they bear.

The commission plans to continue pushing user protection policies, including regular inspections of the handset distribution market, based on the results of the visit.