The logos of South Korea’s major telecom operators — KT Corp., SK Telecom Co. and LG Uplus Corp. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean consumers remain steered toward costly mobile phone plans even after the repeal of the nation’s handset distribution law, a new survey has found, raising questions about whether recent deregulation has meaningfully expanded consumer choice.
According to a report released Thursday by the Korea Consumer Federation, discounts and benefits in the mobile market continue to be concentrated on high-priced plans, encouraging users to subscribe to unlimited data packages that often exceed their actual needs.
The findings are based on a nationwide survey of 1,000 adult consumers conducted in October 2025, roughly three months after South Korea scrapped the Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act, commonly known as the handset subsidy law. The repeal was intended to spur competition and lower household telecom costs.
More than 40 percent of respondents said they were using unlimited data plans, yet a majority of those users reported consuming less than 100 gigabytes of data per month. Fewer than a quarter said they used more than 300 gigabytes.
Overall, more than half of all respondents said their monthly data usage was below 60 gigabytes. While average data use stood at about 95 gigabytes, the median was just 28 gigabytes, highlighting a wide gap between typical usage and the pricing tiers consumers select.
Price was cited as the most important factor when choosing a mobile plan, but nearly half of respondents said their current plan was expensive relative to the services provided. The federation said this contradiction reflects a market structure that nudges consumers toward premium plans through complex pricing schemes and discounts tied to higher fees.
“Consumers tend to choose unlimited plans not because they need them, but because of how plans are structured,” the group said, arguing that opaque pricing and high-end discounts effectively narrow meaningful choice.
Asked what reforms were most urgently needed, respondents pointed to greater transparency in handset pricing, simpler rate plans, a full separation between device sales and service contracts, and improvements to long-term contract and penalty systems.
The federation said it plans to urge regulators, including the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission, to pursue deeper reforms, warning that household telecom expenses are unlikely to fall without clearer pricing, simpler plans and stronger protections against misleading sales practices.
The survey underscores a broader challenge for the Democratic Party–led government: translating regulatory change into tangible savings for consumers in a market still shaped by complex incentives and entrenched pricing structures.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
