Unlimited 5G Data for Around 20,000 Won [Measures to Stabilize Cost of Living]

The government will introduce a 5G (fifth-generation mobile communications) data plan priced in the 20,000 won range in the first half of this year. In addition, a data safety option based on Quality of Service (QoS) will be applied to all Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G plans, allowing users to continue using data at a reduced speed even after exhausting their allotted data. The aim is to guarantee "basic communication rights" so that no citizen is excluded from everyday communication or access to information.
On the 9th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun-cheol chaired the 6th meeting of the Task Force of Related Ministers for Special Management of Consumer Prices. The government stated that the meeting discussed the direction of mobile plan restructuring by the three major mobile carriers to guarantee basic communication rights, the third round of setting maximum prices for petroleum products, monitoring and responses to price trends for items affected by the Middle East conflict, trends and response plans for laptop prices, and measures to strengthen oversight of private academy tuition.
Measures to ease the burden of telecom bills are one of the key national policy tasks, and the government has been consulting with the three major mobile carriers since last year. The government plans to streamline and integrate LTE and 5G plans and launch a 5G plan in the 20,000 won range. The number of plans offered by the three major mobile carriers, currently over 250, will be cut by more than half to improve user convenience and reduce the perceived burden of telecom costs. With this integration, the lowest-priced 5G plan will be lowered to the mid-20,000 won range, similar to the current lowest LTE tier. The entry-level 5G plan, which had been in the high-30,000 won range, will drop to the mid-20,000 won range, improving access to 5G services.
Additional age-based benefits will also be applied automatically without a separate application. Previously, young people and seniors had to subscribe to separate age-specific plans to receive such benefits, but now they will receive them automatically once they reach the eligible age.
All integrated LTE and 5G data plans will allow users to continue using data at 400 kbps without paying extra charges, even after they use up their allotted data. While this speed is not sufficient for watching high-definition video, it is adequate for basic messaging services such as KakaoTalk and Telegram, as well as for map searches.
kaya@fnnews.com Choi Hye-rim Reporter