(LEAD) PM calls for measures to prevent recurrence of Kakao service outage

(ATTN: ADDS PM's remarks, details in paras 6-10)

SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday instructed Cabinet ministers to come up with measures to prevent a recurrence of a service outage of Kakao Corp, the operator of the nation's dominant messaging app.

Most online services provided by Kakao, including KakaoTalk, suffered a massive malfunction over the weekend due to a fire at a data center near Seoul.

"If a problem happens in networks, it could paralyze people's daily lives and be fatal to national security," Han told a Cabinet meeting.

Han called for a swift recovery of Kakao services and "various measures to prevent recurrence along with thorough investigation of the cause."

"Technology and services that people highly depend on should also have corresponding consumer protection obligations and responsibilities," Han said.

In the wake of Kakao's service outage, the Fair Trade Commission plans to look into concerns about the powerful market positions of big technology firms.

Han said addressing the monopoly issue of big technology firms would not run counter to the government's policy of easing regulations and promoting economic growth led by the private sector.

"Monopoly regulation allows order for the market economy to function," Han told reporters later in the day.

Han called anti-monopoly measures against big platform operators "the minimum regulation, not a regulation that hinders the market economy."

The anti-trust regulator will seek fair competition in the platform sector with "transparent and consistent" regulations, Han said.

Services of KakaoTalk, the most popular mobile messenger in the country of 51 million people, with 43 million monthly active users, were operating normally as of Monday morning. Some experienced a slowdown in sending large video clips through KakaoTalk.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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