December 12, 2024

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Protesters hold a rally in front of the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 7, calling for the ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol after this week's martial law turmoil (Yonhap)

Korea’s network and mobile service providers have stepped up their emergency preparedness ahead of Saturday’s impeachment vote against President Yoon Suk Yeol, according to industry sources on Thursday.

The top three telecom carriers -- SK Telecom, KT Corp. and LG Uplus -- are taking measures to prevent service malfunctions, including increasing network capacity in areas where large crowds are expected to gather for rallies in Seoul.

During the first impeachment vote on Dec. 7, about 100,000 people gathered near the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, causing communication network disruptions. This week’s impeachment is expected to draw even larger crowds.

The three companies temporarily installed additional network stations during last week’s rallies, and they plan to add more to prevent service malfunctions in Yeouido and Gwanghwamun, where the largest rallies are expected.

On Thursday, ICT minister Yoo Sang-im visited a KT network control center in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, to inspect the company's response to the recent surge in communication traffic and potential service disruptions.

“We must thoroughly prepare to ensure that citizens do not experience inconveniences due to communication disruptions,” the minister said at the network center.

In the meantime, Naver and Kakao, the nation’s top two internet companies, have boosted server capacity and enhanced traffic monitoring.

Last week, their users suffered service malfunctions for hours due to a spike in traffic after President Yoon issued a short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3.

According to market tracker Mobile Index, KakaoTalk, the top mobile messenger app, saw its average daily use time per person surge from 23.33 minutes on Dec. 1 to 34.44 minutes on Dec. 3. During the same period, new installations of the encrypted messaging app Telegram also soared from 1.17 million to 1.52 million over concerns of possible media censorship following the martial law fiasco.

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)