In 2020, two companies were in conflict about network usage fees in Korea. Netflix filed a lawsuit against South Korean telecommunication company SK Telecom, claiming that the imposition of network fees was unfair. Netflix lost the first trial, and the second is underway as of 2022. Fundamentally, it is an unwritten international rule that each company or country does not charge network usage fees in principle.

However, in 2022, a Korean congressman proposed a bill under which the national three mobile carriers (SKT, LG U+, and KT) should charge network usage fees to foreign companies. The reactions to this proposal have been quite diverse. Those who oppose this law, say it’s not appropriate for internet providers to have these laws, and they will set a precedent for breaking the international balance. On the other hand, news agencies and lawmakers say it is natural to pay the companies that built the network.

One consequence of this can be demonstrated in the example of Twitch, an internet broadcaster, which has executed an action in response to this bill. The original Twitch broadcast quality of 1080p was lowered to 720p. Accordingly, those who run broadcasting systems are in consensus that this bill is in fact harmful to users.