Korea to separate TV subscription fees from electricity bills

[Photo by Yonhap]

The South Korean government has decided to separate television subscription fees for public broadcasters from electricity bills, which had been paid collectively since 1994, allowing split payment starting from this month.

On Tuesday, the Cabinet approved a partial revision in the enforcement decree of the country’s Broadcasting Act for the change. The new payment system will be implemented as early as October after three months of preparation.

TV subscription fees had been collected as part of electricity bills, making it difficult for many users to realize that they were paying subscription fees. Many people had to pay subscription fees even if they did not have a TV at home and non-payment of the fees led to power outages as they were linked to electricity bills. It was also impossible to pay the subscription fee and electricity bill separately.

However, upon cabinet approval of the amendment, families are no longer required to pay the subscription fee if they do not have a TV. Power will not be cut off even if the fee is not paid.

“TV subscription fees will be notified and collected separately from electricity bills to ensure that the public clearly knows whether and how much the fee is collected and takes immediate action in the event of incorrect charges,” said an unnamed official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

A three-month preparation period will be required before the separate collection system is fully introduced as the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has to undertake negotiations with the Korea Broadcasting System (KBS).

KEPCO will continue to issue an integrated bill during the grace period, but people will be given the option to pay their electricity and TV subscription fees separately.