The Korea Communications Commission reviewed the performance of 46 companies across 13 service sectors, considering factors like user base size and complaint frequency. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Mar. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – In the latest assessment of telecom operators’ efforts to protect users, LG U+ and SK Telecom have set a high standard by receiving the highest rating of “Outstanding.” In contrast, Apple’s App Store and Meta have struggled to improve, maintaining the lowest rating of “Poor” for another year.
The evaluation, conducted by the Korea Communications Commission, reviewed the performance of 46 companies across 13 service sectors, considering factors like user base size and complaint frequency.
The overall improvement in ratings for both core and value-added telecom service providers suggests a positive shift, particularly for those evaluated under this framework for the first time.
However, the results indicate that global operators need to enhance their practices, as their ratings have either declined or stagnated compared to last year.
In the mobile communications sector, LG U+ rose one grade from last year, joining SK Telecom at the top with an “Outstanding” rating. KT maintained its “Excellent” status, showing consistent performance.
The broadband internet category saw four operators—LG U+, SK Broadband, SK Telecom, and D’Live (which improved by one grade)—receiving the top rating. KT, LG HelloVision, and HCN (which dropped by one grade) were rated as “Excellent.”
In the app market sector, Samsung Electronics and OneStore (which improved by one grade) were awarded “Excellent” ratings, while Google maintained a “Good” rating from the previous year.
Apple, however, continued its streak of “Poor” ratings, marking its sixth consecutive year at the bottom.
In the search and social networking service (SNS) sector, Naver (for its search service) maintained its “Excellent” rating, and Kakao (for Daum and KakaoTalk) improved by one grade to “Good.”
Meta, managing Instagram and Facebook, remained at the bottom with a “Poor” rating, unchanged from last year.
Google’s YouTube, in the online video service (OTT) sector, experienced a downgrade, moving from a “Good” to an “Average” rating.
Among those undergoing their first full evaluation, KB Kookmin Bank, Naver Corp. (for Band and Shopping), and Woowa Brothers received “Excellent” ratings for their understanding and cooperation with the evaluation’s objectives, while GH Connect, Waave, and Twitch were rated “Poor.”
Vice Commissioner Lee Sang-in highlighted the importance of preparedness in user protection, noting that the lower-rated companies are more likely to cause significant user inconvenience in case of service disruptions.
He specifically pointed out YouTube’s need for increased responsibility and effort in user protection, as its user count is the highest despite another decline in its evaluation rating.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
