The government and the three telecom operators will cooperate to promote domestic circulation and reuse of rare earths and other critical minerals contained in scrapped telecommunications equipment.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the climate ministry signed a business agreement on June 11 at the Korea Press Center with SK Telecom, KT, LG Uplus, the Korea Communications Agency (KCA) and the Korea Environment Corporation to promote domestic circulation of scrapped telecommunications equipment.

The agreement was pursued to establish a system to recover and recycle critical minerals in South Korea from scrapped telecommunications equipment such as base stations, repeaters and servers. With demand for telecom equipment rising due to artificial intelligence and advanced communications networks, it aims to manage scrapped equipment from the perspective of resource security and carbon neutrality.

According to KCA research, scrapped telecommunications equipment generated in South Korea totalled 13,600 tonnes in 2023. The equipment contained critical minerals worth about 180 billion won, including copper, neodymium, palladium, cobalt and tantalum. It is assessed to have high value as a resource because it has a higher content of critical minerals than household scrapped appliances.

Recycling scrapped telecommunications equipment is also emerging as an industry issue overseas. The European Union has moved to stabilise supply chains for critical minerals through the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). The GSMA has also been pushing for carbon neutrality in the telecommunications sector through its "Net Zero 2050" initiative.

In South Korea, scrapped telecommunications equipment is dismantled and sorted by recycling companies and then recycled by material. Some critical-mineral-containing waste is traded in domestic and overseas markets depending on international prices and demand, making it difficult to confirm final distribution routes, according to criticism.

The science ministry, the climate ministry and telecommunications operators have held working-level consultations to strengthen the domestic circulation and reuse system for critical minerals. The agreement is a follow-up step to pursue a pilot project based on a public-private cooperation system. At the signing ceremony, they presented a plan for a pilot project to build a circulation and reuse system for scrapped telecommunications equipment and details of a joint new project planned from next year.

The pilot project will focus on surveying the generation and processing status of scrapped telecommunications equipment and the distribution flows of recycled products. It will pursue development and demonstration support for automated separation technology for critical minerals in scrapped equipment, support for installing dismantling and sorting facilities, and preparation of guidelines for circular use of scrapped equipment. The science ministry will be in charge of technology development and demonstrations, while the climate ministry will handle facility support.

Ryu Je-myung (류제명), second vice minister at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said demand for telecom equipment is expected to surge as AI and communications networks develop, and the importance of recycling scrapped telecommunications equipment with high critical mineral content is drawing attention. He said the ministry would actively support efforts to strengthen resource security and promote carbon neutrality through public-private collaboration.

Geum Han-seung (금한승), first vice minister at the climate ministry, said the pilot project would actively gather stakeholder opinions and strengthen the domestic circulation and reuse system for scrapped telecommunications equipment.