Telecommunications is a tool providing information services to both private and public sectors. It is highly involved in society and helps a society grow and flourish. It affects the ideals and trends of a society and, thus, is a very important factor in a growing country. With an area of 99,019 square kilometers, and a current population of 44.6 million people, the Republic of Korea is a great challenge to connect through telecommunication tools and projects.Even with such a great expanse of land and peoples, Korea has succeeded in becoming the eighth most advanced country in telecommunications. There are 337 telephones per 1000 people with an annual growth rate of 15.6% for residential subscribers, 10.1 % for commercial subscribers and 245 for leased line data services. Thus, the question of how Korea accomplished this in just a little over a decade comes to mind.In this paper, I will give an overview of the developments of the Korean telecommunications industry. Then through other literary sources along with the telecommunications background information, I will show how the Korean Government’s practice of deregulation and liberalization has spurred on competition and, henceforth, progress in the Korean telecommunications industry. CHAPTER 1:History of TelecommunicationsThe first form of telecommunications in Korea began in 1885 with the first telegraph which linked Seoul and Inchon which were located 35 km apart. The periods of telecommunication development can be divided into three stages. In the first stage, 1885 to 1961, there was limited telegraph and telephone service available. They were mainly for official business service. The Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945 and the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 stagnated telecommunication progress (Lee et.al 1). Only 120,000 telephone lines were installed in this period, supplying a minimal fraction of 0.4 phones per 100 persons.In the second stage, 1962 to 1981, ...
