The government, mobile carriers, and platform companies will step up illegal spam blocking and user protection measures ahead of the Chuseok holiday in September.
The Korea Media and Communications Commission said it held the sixth plenary meeting of the "public-private council on illegal spam response" in Seoul on the 14th with the Ministry of Science and ICT and reviewed the progress of related comprehensive measures. About 50 officials attended the meeting, including the Personal Information Protection Commission, the Korean National Police Agency, the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), the three mobile carriers, Samsung Electronics, and Kakao.
Participants discussed each institution's implementation status of the "comprehensive plan to prevent illegal spam," which has been in effect since the end of 2024, and additional policy tasks. The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) shared key points of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection and related notices, and asked to expand the scope of sharing illegal spam caller IDs based on reporting data. It also called for enhancing AI-based filtering and strengthening linkage among service providers.
The Ministry of Science and ICT requested the introduction of a null-number blocking system to stop mass texts sent using nonexistent numbers and improvements in responding to overseas-origin spam through cooperation with overseas messaging operators. It also stressed that domestic and overseas message relayers must toughen oversight of customers who send mass texts.
The three mobile carriers and Kakao decided to expand user advisories and their own blocking measures to prevent scam texts targeting Chuseok. Shin Young-gyu, director general for broadcasting and telecommunications user policy at the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC), said related system improvements would be wrapped up quickly, and Nam Seok, communications policy director at the Ministry of Science and ICT, emphasized improving the effectiveness of blocking null numbers and overseas-origin spam.
Launched in December 2024, the public-private council is tasked with verifying whether service providers are meeting their spam-blocking obligations and jointly responding to illegal activities.