Republic of Korea: Media and Communications Commission opened investigation into value-added communications service providers over deletion-restricted floating advertisements under the Telecommunications Business Act

On 12 February 2026, the Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) opened a fact-finding investigation into 17 value-added telecommunications service providers that restrict the deletion of online inconvenient advertisements. The investigation targets rectangular advertisements, commonly known as floating advertisements, that cover part or all of the content on personal computer and smartphone screens and make deletion impossible or difficult. The purpose is to determine whether the conduct constitutes a prohibited act under the Telecommunications Business Act, specifically the act of restricting the deletion of advertisements that unfairly cover information other than advertisements whilst distributing, posting, or transmitting advertisements. The KMCC has conducted annual regular inspections of such online inconvenient advertisement deletion restriction conduct. The KMCC decided to conduct fact-finding investigations into value-added telecommunications service providers detected twice cumulatively from the previous year. Following monitoring of 300 news sites during the first and second halves of the previous year, a total of 17 service providers were detected twice cumulatively, prompting the investigation.