Seoul, Sep 18 (IANS): Mobile phone spam in South Korea reached a record high through August, despite ongoing government efforts to curb unwanted messages and advertisements, parliamentary data showed on Wednesday.

From January to August, 280.4 million spam messages and calls were reported or detected by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), up 68 percent from the same period last year, according to the data submitted to the National Assembly by KISA.

This year's figures already represent 95 percent of the total spam messages and calls reported in all of 2023, which amounted to 295.5 million, reports Yonhap news agency.

The number of spam from January to August has surged in recent years, climbing from 27.7 million in 2022 to 167 million in 2023 and 280.4 million in 2024.

In response, South Korean authorities have introduced measures since early this year to tackle the rise in spam, including stricter guidelines for sending mass text messages.

Under the current law, communication service providers are required to take action, such as suspending services, when they detect illegal spam activity on their networks. Those who fail to comply may face fines of up to 30 million won (US$22,500).