Gov't hangs up on Stage X's bid to become fourth mobile carrier

The consortium headed by mobile virtual network operator Stage Five was disqualified from becoming Korea's fourth mobile carrier over a lack of capital.

Stage X CEO Seo Sang-won speaks during a press conference held in western Seoul on Feb. 7. [YONHAP]

Stage X has been disqualified from becoming the country's fourth mobile carrier after the government revoked the company’s license on Wednesday, citing its failure to secure paid-in capital and fulfill other requirements.

The consortium headed by mobile virtual network operator Stage Five was in line to be the fourth official mobile carrier as it won the bid to carry the 5G 28-gigahertz spectrum for 430.1 billion won ($312.8 million) back in January.

It was the government’s eighth attempt to bring a new player into the domestic telecom industry, which has long been dominated by three mobile carriers — SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus.

The Ministry of Science and ICT forecast the cancellation of Stage X’s license last month, pointing to the bidder's failure to raise the necessary paid-in capital of 205 billion won for frequency allocation along with insufficient funding from its shareholders.

Among the six main shareholders that each own more than a 5 percent stake in Stage X, only Stage Five paid some of the capital.

The ministry convened a hearing that was held by attorney Song Do-young of the Veat Law Firm on June 27, and reviewed Stage X’s documents pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act.

The presider of the hearing also submitted its review of the documents on July 24, which stated that Stage X did not meet the mandatory requirements stipulated by the Radio Waves Act and the revocation of its license was appropriate.

In turn, the Science Ministry finalized the cancellation on Wednesday and refunded the 43.1 billion won that Stage X had paid for frequency allocation.

Following the news, Stage X said in a press statement that it is considering applying for an injunction or filing a damages suit against the government, characterizing the ministry’s decision as “regrettable.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]