인공지능 고도화와 통신규제의 변화

This study identifies existing regulations governing telecommunications businesses and the regulatory issues that should be anticipated in light of future changes, particularly those driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI). It reviews the current regulatory landscape, forecasts how the industry may evolve as AI develops, and then examines the resulting regulatory issues by category. First, regulations concerning infrastructure—including telecommunications networks—can be viewed through the lens of granting special privileges and imposing obligations on infrastructure operators. From this viewpoint, regulation ensures that market actors supplying infrastructure possess legitimate qualifications, enables market entry through appropriate procedures, and guides and controls the use of infrastructure in line with the public interest. The fundamentals of telecommunications business regulation also function as a means for the state to guarantee the provision of services; accordingly, regulation focuses either on allowing market entry only for operators capable of effective service provision or on promoting and maintaining effective competition. As technology develops, telecommunications networks will diversify, and boundaries will blur between telecommunications operators and between telecommunications and device businesses. Regulations should therefore be restructured to target individual conduct rather than business form. For business combinations, the current dual framework should be significantly simplified, with primary reliance on ex post regulation. Second, infrastructure regulation can be understood from the perspective of ensuring fair access for competition. As infrastructure becomes more sophisticated, the ability to access it freely becomes a key determinant of economic performance. At this level, telecommunications operators bear universal service obligations, and facilities-based operators in particular have duties related to network neutrality and wholesale access. As networks become more complex and network services and content converge, approaches to neutrality and universal service must evolve. Universal service is not achieved merely by expanding physical access; it must be pursued through the broader concept of digital literacy. In markets where IoT plays an increasing role, questions arise about the continuing validity of wholesale obligations and the suitability of current ex ante regulations on wholesale rates and subsidiary restrictions. Finally, risk-management regulations address issues that may arise during infrastructure use. When market actors use infrastructure to provide specific services, those services may harm users or third parties. From a user-protection perspective, telecommunications operators are subject to tariff regulation and, in certain cases, to proactive user-protection obligations. Such regulations should evolve to recognize user agency and strengthen user literacy, and the overall framework should aim to prevent harm at its source by shaping how systems are built and deployed rather than merely treating harmful outcomes after the fact. Advances in AI and communication networks are fundamentally changing the paradigm of communication services, requiring a comprehensive review of South Korea’s telecommunications law. Integrated AI agents, blurred boundaries among services, content, and terminals, and dynamic, personalized user experiences expose the limits of an application-centric regulatory approach. A new policy paradigm is therefore needed—one that reflects the dynamic nature of, and interactions among, all entities in an advanced AI-based service environment.