On November 28, 2024, the Korean Communications Commission (KCC) announced the publication of Comprehensive Measures to Prevent Illegal Spam.

The KCC highlighted that, in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Information Communication Technology (MSIT), inspections concluded that 75% of illegal spam received in the first half of 2024 were text messages sent by bulk text messages.

Accordingly, the KCC and MSIT set out five aims designed to prevent illegal spam in the future, namely:

• recovering unfair profits generated through illegal spam - future fines will be imposed on those who send illegal spam and on mobile carriers, text message relay companies, and resellers who provide related services facilitating the sending of spam;
• normalizing the bulk text message distribution market - strengthening business registration requirements, requiring certification for bulk text message services and standards for the suspension of problematic business practices;
• strengthening the blocking of illegal spam - instating technical systems to block spam, including the establishment of a spam text and account management system to verify the validity and identity of sender numbers;
• strengthening barriers to illegal spam - introducing on-device spam filtering functions without requiring the installation of separate apps; and
• establishing spam blocking governance - setting up a cooperative and joint response system between the KCC and MSIT to discuss illegal spam.

You can read the press release and the measures, only available in Korean, here.