방송통신위원회 심결절차 개선에 관한 연구― 시정조치 및 과징금 부과 절차를 중심으로 ―

Abstract

Korea Communications Commission(hereinafter the “KCC”) was established for the effective regulation of Korean communications industry in 2008. The effective regulation of communications industry is very important because it is one of the essential industries and is closely related to our daily lives. Its mission is accomplished through the hearing procedures by five commissioners including the chairman of KCC. The hearing procedures of KCC have improved a lot in terms of fairness and efficiency since the establishment. However, there are several problems to improve compared to U.S. Federal Communications Commission(hereinafter the “FCC”) or Korean Fair Trade Commission(hereinafter the “KFTC”). First of all, KCC should strengthen quasi-judicial procedures for a fair hearing. Many scholars think that the combination of the prosecutorial function and the adjudicatory function is inescapable. However, KCC should make an effort to complement the problems of the system. The particular form of the communications authorities in each country depends on the historical backgrounds and political environment. However, the trends in the developed countries are to separate the internal functions and to strengthen the defense rights for respondents. KFTC has also developed its hearing procedures persistently and is evaluated to have established adversarial system. The FCC examples for a fair hearing are the hearing by Administrative Law Judges(hereinafter the “ALJ”) and the ban on the ex parte communication. Of course, we should take the our circumstances into consideration prior to introducing the ALJ system or the ban on the ex parte communication. I think that the point is to share the problems of the KCC hearing procedures and discuss the ways to improve them actively.