Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
SK Telecom draws backlash for ‘partially accepting’ sales suspension order
SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang answers questions from reporters during a media briefing regarding its involvement in a customer data leak at its headquarters in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
Customer exodus spikes over user data leak
SK Telecom has come under continued public backlash for “partially accepting” a sales suspension order regarding its customer data leak.
The company said Friday it will stop attracting new subscribers for its T world stores starting no later than Monday, following an administrative guidance issued by the Ministry of Science and ICT on Thursday.
The telecom firm is facing its worst-ever crisis after it reported a leak discovered April 18 of its customers’ universal subscriber identity module (USIM) information. The incident tarnished the firm’s image as the most influential mobile carrier here.
The company is taking flak for deciding not to block sales activities on other retail and online sales channels not controlled by its headquarters, despite doing so for some 2,600 T world stores nationwide. Any losses from T world stores will be compensated by SK Telecom, the company said.
“We reached an internal conclusion not to demand stores, which have not signed any direct contract with SK Telecom, to stop their sales activities,” SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang told reporters during a media briefing.
SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang bows his head during a media briefing at the firm's headquarters in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
“They are small businesses, so it is too difficult for us to force them to suspend their sales,” he said.
SK Telecom has yet to confirm how to compensate its customers for the latest incident.
The scandal has also raised calls for the company to lift penalties charged to subscribers when they change carriers.
The company remained cautious, saying that it will make a decision on the issue after “comprehensively taking into consideration.”
“The issue of the penalty exemption is a grave one, so I cannot make a decision on my own,” Yoo said. “This will be discussed by our board of directors. The science ministry will also review it, but we cannot say when exactly the final decision will be made.”
SK Telecom offered a free USIM card replacement service to its customers starting April 28.
According to data from the Korea Telecommunications Operations Association, the number of subscribers who changed their carriers from SK Telecom to others jumped by 87 percent in April compared to the previous month. Among them, 95,953 switched to KT, while 86,005 moved to LG Uplus during the same period.
A total of 38,716 SK Telecom subscribers also terminated their contracts with the company on Thursday alone. Amid growing concerns over the data breach, the exodus of customers is widely expected to continue.
SK Telecom said it will speed up the replacement of USIM cards for its customers to prevent further potential harm. According to the company, it will secure 5 million USIM cards in both May and June, and will continue supplying them to customers free of charge through July and beyond.
SK Telecom said it will hold daily briefings to share updates on the incident until concerns from customers and the broader public are fully addressed.