Bamitaongwi said on Wednesday it will introduce a "user-participation reporting scheme" from March 3 to reduce consumer harm, including false or exaggerated advertisements for handset subsidies and omissions on contracts.

The scheme will be implemented to coincide with the launch of Samsung Electronics' "Galaxy S26". Reportable cases include situations where subsidies are paid differently from what ads state, failure to provide a contract, failure to state handset subsidies and payment conditions in the contract, inducement to sign up for high-priced plans and improper sign-ups for add-on services, and mismatches between information on the visited dealer and the dealer that actually activates the service.

Under the Telecommunications Business Act, mobile carriers and dealers must separately specify in contracts items related to agreements, including handset subsidies and payment conditions, the amount of fee discounts, and add-on services.

Bamitaongwi has conducted on-site inspections with the Korea Information and Communication Promotion Association (KAIT) and the Korea Consumer Union for Protection in Broadcasting and Communication (KCUP). It said it judged that supplements were needed through user participation as some false or exaggerated advertisements were repeated.

Users can file reports on the Korea Consumer Union for Protection in Broadcasting and Communication website from March 3. If violations are confirmed, rewards will be paid to the reporter within an annual cap of 200,000 won.

A "report-and-reward scheme for excessive handset subsidy payments" introduced in 2013 was halted in 2022 due to side effects such as excessive competition among dealers to file reports. Bamitaongwi said the new scheme focuses not on excessive subsidies but on false or exaggerated advertisements and compliance with obligations to state required items in contracts.

Kim Jong-cheol (김종철), chair of Bamitaongwi, said voluntary participation by users is important to quickly detect illegal or improper practices in the handset market.

Users who suffer harm in the process of buying a handset or signing up for mobile services can receive consultations and support through carriers' customer service centres or the mobile phone unfair practices reporting centre.