[Law firm Veat V.A.R] Key Contents of the Revised Information and Communication Convergence Act

The Ministry of Science and ICT has been expanding the implementation of the "ICT Regulatory Sandbox" since January 17, 2019, and as of April 2025, it has granted exemptions to 185 experimental exemptions, 64 temporary permits, 24 proactive administrative measures, for a total of 273 cases, providing market entry opportunities to companies.

Through this, 125 new technologies and services have been launched into the market, achieving 14.17 billion won in sales, attracting 20.03 billion won in investment, creating 6,648 new jobs, and achieving economic results, and 70 cases have been amended (56% of the 125 market launch cases), making formal business possible (as of December 2023).

Despite these achievements, it has been pointed out that even if there was already an experimental exemption designation or temporary permit for similar cases, companies still had to go through the same formal procedure, which resulted in delays in exemption designations and unnecessary administrative expenditures.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Science and ICT amended the "Act on Promotion of Information and Communication Technology and Convergence" to ▲establish a basis for prompt processing of experimental exemptions and temporary permits (Article 2, Paragraph 4 of Act and Article 2, Paragraph 4 of Act), ▲introduce a 'safe harbor' system to promote proactive administrative measures by regulatory officials (Article 2), and ▲establish a basis for awarding commendations and bonuses to those who have contributed to the revitalization of information and communication technology and related industries (Article 2).

These revised items are the first amendment to the Regulatory Sandbox-related legislation and will take effect from March 23, 2025, ▲reducing the review period for similar cases by a significant amount* and simplifying procedures**, which will significantly reduce the burden on applicant companies and prevent unnecessary administrative waste, and ▲expanding opportunities to launch products and services directly into the market without experimentation through proactive administrative measures.
* Review response period reduction: 30 days → 15 days
** Simplification of review and approval procedures:
   - (Existing) Review by the Preliminary Review Committee → Review and approval by the New Technology and Service Review Committee
   - (Revised) Only review and approval by the specialized committee to grant exemption

For companies, if there is an experimental exemption or temporary permit for similar cases, they can more easily obtain an experimental exemption designation or temporary permit, so it is necessary to actively consider applying for the Regulatory Sandbox.

• Even in the case of similar cases, they may be eligible for experimental support if they meet certain requirements.

If you have any questions about Regulatory Sandbox consultation and application, please contact the Regulatory Sandbox Consulting Team (Song Doyoung, Partner Attorney, doyoung.song@veat.kr, 02-576-8990).

[Law firm Veat Regulatory Sandbox Consulting Team]

• Regulatory Sandbox Consulting Team Introduction: The 'Law firm Veat Regulatory Sandbox Consulting Team' has been conducting numerous government projects and corporate advisory services related to Regulatory Sandbox since the project discovery stage in 2018, for a total of 7 years. Law firm Veat has reviewed over 500 cases, the largest number in the country, through Regulatory Sandbox work related to ICT Regulatory Sandbox, industrial convergence/financial innovation/smart cities/regional special zones/mobility Regulatory Sandbox. Song Doyoung, Partner Attorney, received the 'Prime Minister's Commendation' in recognition of his contribution to the revitalization of the Regulatory Sandbox system, serves as a member of the Financial Innovation Review Committee, and Law firm Veat received an institutional commendation from the Minister of Science and ICT.
• Members: Song Doyoung, Partner Attorney, Baek Seungchul, Partner Attorney, Jo Eunbyeol, Partner Attorney, Jeon Yonghwan, Senior Attorney, Park Sohee, Senior Attorney, Song Jiyoung, Attorney, Kim Jisoo, Attorney, Lee Hyerim, Attorney, Han Hyungju, Attorney, Lee Hansong, Research Fellow