The processing time to suspend phone numbers used in crimes will be cut to within 24 hours from the current 2 to 3 days.

The Central Radio Management Service said on Aug. 28 it has fully overhauled the "illegal-use phone number suspension system" and will begin full operations from Aug. 31.

The Central Radio Management Service currently identifies the relevant carrier and orders a suspension when related agencies such as the National Police Agency, provincial governors and the Financial Supervisory Service request the suspension of illegally used phone numbers under the Telecommunications Business Act.

However, it has been difficult to identify carriers for some phone numbers in real time, and suspension requests also had to be entered manually. That meant it took 2 to 3 days for an actual suspension. Another problem was that the existing system, built in 2015, had become outdated.

The Central Radio Management Service revamped the system as a follow-up measure to the government-wide "comprehensive measures to eradicate voice phishing" announced in August last year. It built a system that can identify carriers for illegally used phone numbers in real time. It also linked an application programming interface, or API, with the integrated analysis and response system of the National Police Agency's integrated response team for telecom-based financial fraud, to unify the request channel and cut processing time to within 24 hours.

The Central Radio Management Service will closely inspect through year-end whether there are delays in issuing suspension orders for illegally used phone numbers and whether users are notified of the procedure for filing objections. Last year, administrative measures included 4 corrective orders over delayed processing and 11 fines over failures to implement suspension orders and advance notices.

Choi Jun-ho (최준호), head of the Central Radio Management Service, said, "We will continue to work to protect the public from illegal acts such as voice phishing and to create a safe telecommunications environment."