Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
SK Telecom to resume accepting new subscribers
A sign notifying customers of a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) replacement service is displayed at an SK Telecom store in Seoul, May 20. Yonhap.
By Lee Gyu-lee
SK Telecom will be allowed to resume new subscription services starting Tuesday, following a two-month suspension, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Monday.
The suspension was imposed after a massive data breach involving users’ universal subscriber identity modules (USIM) in April. In response, the government ordered the company on May 1 to halt new subscriptions until USIM replacements were completed.
“The ministry has concluded that the purpose of the administrative guidance related to the USIM shortage has been fulfilled, as SK Telecom has secured a sufficient supply of USIM cards to meet both current and future replacement demand,” the ministry said in a press release.
“In addition, the ministry instructed SK Telecom to continue prioritizing the replacement of existing customers’ USIM cards even after resuming new registrations.”
As of Thursday, the company reported that more than 9.06 million users had successfully replaced their USIMs out of roughly 10 million replacement requests. Among them, around 680,000 failed to show up for their appointments, while new requests continue to grow by 10,000 to 20,000 per day.
The company plans to secure 6 million cards this month, followed by 5 million each in July and August — quantities expected to be sufficient to meet the full demand.
It also launched a new reservation system Friday, allowing users to book replacements by selecting their preferred store, date and time.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won apologizes for a recent SK Telecom data breach during a press briefing at SK Group's headquarters in Seoul, May 7. Yonhap
The resumption of new sign-ups is expected to spark a new wave of competition in the telecom market, as SK Telecom seeks to recover from the incident that prompted hundreds of thousands of its users to switch to rival carriers.
Since the breach was made public in April, the company has lost nearly 600,000 customers, with its market share estimated to have fallen below 40 percent for the first time in its history.
According to the ministry, SK Telecom’s subscription count fell to 22.92 million in April, down by about 180,000 from the previous month, with its market share dropping 0.33 to 40.08 percent. Following the suspension of new sign-ups, an additional 330,000 subscribers are estimated to have switched to rival carriers.
Even before the suspension was lifted, SK Telecom had been pulling out all the stops to stem customer losses — offering incentives of up to 880,000 won ($636) for customers purchasing the latest smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. The company also significantly increased subsidies for users on more affordable monthly plans, benefits that were previously reserved mainly for customers on high-tier packages.
With the government set to next month lift the Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act — which currently prohibits mobile carriers from offering excessive discounts or subsidies — SK Telecom is expected to set the stage for a fierce battle to reclaim its position in the market.