The first illegal subsidy sanctions after the mobile communication industry's 5G service are expected to conclude next week.

The number of illegal cases is so wide and extensive that it is possible to impose the greatest fines in the past, but there is also a prospect that you will have to open the lid according to the last thoughts of the Korea Communications Commission.

According to the Korea Communications Commission on the 3rd, sanctions against the illegal subsidies of three mobile carriers from April to August last year are expected to rise as an agenda for the overall meeting of the Korea National Defense Commission on the 8th of this month.

An official of the Korea National Defense Commission said, "We are trying our best to promote the summit on the 8th."

The industry has reported that the sanctions resolution is imminent since March of this year, but there have been strong observations that it will be voted on the first day of the first general meeting of the month, after a schedule has been delayed.

However, this time, the schedule was delayed to 8 days for further review.

The Commission explained, "Some standing committee members needed further review of the results of listening to the opinions of mobile operators related to the sanctions."

Therefore, depending on the results of the additional review, there is no possibility that the assumption of the general meeting on the 8th may be unsuccessful.

As such, the resolution of sanctions continues to struggle until the last minute, and expectations for sanctions levels, including the amount of fines, are staggering.

Until the end of May, when the resolution was delayed, the industry's desire that the damage caused by the new coronavirus infection (Corona19) would be considered.

However, the mood changed dramatically after the Korea Communications Commission sent an advance notice containing the results of the investigation to each company earlier last month.

The industry predicted that the total fines would exceed 70 billion won when looking at the scope of the investigation, the number of violations, and the violation rate indicated in the notice.

After the Act on the Improvement of Distribution Structure of Mobile Communication Terminal Devices (Single Communication Act), the maximum fine imposed by the Korea Communications Commission on the application of illegal subsidies was a total of KRW 50 billion in 2018.

In some cases, it was dominant that the forecast would exceed the previous record in any case, such as looking at up to 80 billion won.

However, when the conclusions expected at the end of last month or the first week of this month were delayed again, there was an analysis that opinions were mixed within the KCC.

An industry official said, "I just hope that the industry will actively consider explaining measures to prevent recurrence and improve the system along with efforts to grow 5G."

An official of the Korea National Communications Commission said, "The committee members will decide by looking at various factors such as weighting or reduction factors." There is nothing to mention about the specific sanctions level.

(yunhap news)