망 이용대가 법제화 논의 및 관련 국제통상규범에 대한 소고 -전기통신사업법 개정안을 중심으로-

The debate over network usage fees is likely to continue evolving in response to technological advancements and changes in internet usage patterns. Particularly, the widespread adoption of high-speed internet networks may further intensify the conflicts of interest between internet service providers (ISPs) and content providers (CPs). In South Korea, relevant problems have been raised regarding the large amount of traffic generated by global CPs, especially major U.S. Big Tech companies. Since the issue began to be seriously discussed in South Korea, a total of eight legislative bills were proposed in the 21st National Assembly to amend the Telecommunications Business Act. On August 8, 2024, a new legislative bill to amend the Act was lately introduced with the similar main objectives and contents as before in the 22nd National Assembly. This paper aims to examine those eight bills from the perspective of international trade law, focusing on the GATS and the Korea-U.S. FTA. Before delving into a detailed discussion, the paper first provides an overview of the background of the debate and the major international trade law issues related to the bills. Subsequently, the paper reviews South Korea’s commitments in the relevant services sectors relating to the bills, and then explore whether the bills violate any major international trade regulations, concluding with suggestions for further action. Although the eight bills themselves are no longer valid due to the expiration of the 21st National Assembly’s term, the analysis of these bills conducted in this paper is expected to remain effectively applicable to future legislative attempts with similar contents, including the recently introduced new bill.